


avaritia

by temporarytomlinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha Harry, Alpha Liam, Angst, Angst and Feels, Beta Niall, Beta Zayn, But Nothing Horrible, Gore, Harry is a bit mean, Heats and Ruts, Help, I have no idea how to tag, I have no idea what I'm doing here, Knotting, Louis has a few panic attacks, Louis hates being an omega, Louis is kind of mean towards his father, Louis pinches himself, M/M, Maybe mpreg, Minor Character Death, Multi, Omega Louis, Scenting, Slow Burn, Smut, Violence, WIP, Wiltshire, Wolves, a lot of angst cause I live for that, animal will be killed in this fic, blood and horror, bodyhorror, kind of self harm, larry stylinson - Freeform, lots of Louis being anxious, maybe some people too but I have yet to figure that out, myths, pls bareover me, sort of witchcraft, who knows - Freeform, wolves but that's no secret
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-28 04:55:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 99,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13896711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporarytomlinson/pseuds/temporarytomlinson
Summary: 'He was sure it was the devil who had caught him.He was clutching his dirty sweater into a tight, tight fist on his chest, it made him feel safe somehow. As if it would help him to catch his breath and ground him."Please don't hurt me, don't hurt me""Open your eyes" it commanded. But Louis wouldn't budge, he was petrified of what he was gonna be met with as soon as his eyes would flutter open. "Open your eyes omega!" it screamed in his face, so close to his own so some spit landed on his cheeks buyt Louis didn't care one bit about that.Alpha voice. It used its alpha voice on him. And Louis had no way he couldn't obey, his inner omega forcing him to do it.What Louis saw pushed the last scream out of him before he was out cold.Red eyes.'or, Louis is an anxious mess with too much anger in his body, mostly directed at his father who "forces" him to move to Wiltshire with him since he was forced to close his auto shop.





	1. welcome to wiltshire

[ Bleachers _ft. Grimes - Take Me Away_ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=NeNszBumS8W7FgDrpOD-3g)

 

 

_Welcome to Wiltshire._

_Population: 1015_

Now 1017.

Big and bold letters on a big and rusty sign, most of the paint was chipped off already from its years upon years of standing there in every types of weather the world had to offer and made the sign a bit difficult to read. Generally it just didn't look very welcoming. _At all_ . It really needed to get repainted or just replaced with a new one all together, that would probably the smartest thing to do. Preferably one that didn't scream _stay away from here, you aren't welcome_. Maybe then people would actually know what Wiltshire was, he was pretty sure it wasn’t even on the map of England.

The rain was falling viciously against the windscreen, almost as if the weather was punishing them for entering the small town without its permission. It was pouring and pounding against the roof so it echoed in the small car. They'd said that the winters here was a lot more " _brutal_ ", but nothing Louis couldn't get used to. He'd grown up in England after all so a little snow wouldn't easily throw him off. Pfff.

The website had also informed that the weather wasn't to be trusted, that it'll change a lot. How much would it change? It wasn't like they'd left the country and moved to Alaska all of suddenly.

Even though Alaska seemed more welcoming than Wiltshire did at the moment, that's for sure.

His head was leaning against the cold window and his arms was crossed across his chest in a very childish manner, he was probably pouting too since the small car was freezing cold. Each little breath he took fogged up the window, if Louis was in a better mood he'd drawn a little stick figure on the fogged spot.

They'd been driving for at least more than 4 hours, to Louis it felt like a whole day. The small car was filled to the brim with cardboard boxes upon boxes until there almost weren't enough space for the two Tomlinsons. The last things they had in their old home was in those boxes. Everything else was already moved to Wiltshire a week before. He just wanted to get there already and not be stuck in the car with his father anymore than he needed to, there's only so much football and work related small talk the blue eyed lad could take for a day and he was pretty much already fed up with it. He was gonna bash it head against the window repeatedly until he’s knocked himself out if he had to be in this car for another hour.

He couldn't even take a small nap because of the unforgiving uneven road they'd been driving on had kept shaking him awake every time he was close to a restless slumber.

It had been nothing but one of the most difficult things Louis’ done in his whole life, trying to secure every box in their car so it wouldn’t be one big safety hazard driving on the road on their way to Wiltshire and it had started out with a minor argument about which box should’ve put in first for more space. Eventually his father had with his kinidest frustrated words told him to just _wait in the car while I pack the rest of the things, please_ with him pinching the bridge of his nose in clear annoyance and with a slight shake of his head.

" _The scientists from Campenford Institution have yet found an rational explanation of why the numbers of people suffering from depression and touch deprivation keeps on raising. The spokesman of the Institution, Mr Sil-_ " the lady on the radio was cut off when Louis' father changed the station to some old classic rock channel.

“What about some music instead?” his father said.

“Don’t really care to be honest”

Not that Louis was particularly interested in what the news lady had to say anyways on the matter, it was all the same thing they'd been talking about for months and months. Alphas and omegas was getting increasingly more depressed, in some cases aggressive, around the world according to their database and ‘’research’’, and they just could find a reason for it.  

News flash, people have been depressed for thousands of centuries and just because people comes forward and explain their suffering and hard times, it's most likely not gonna change anything.

Led Zeppelin was singing about being dazed and confused as they drove down the never ending road.

" _28 km straight ahead 'till you reach your final destination_ " the robotic voice of a woman said.

"We'll be there shortly" his father voiced. "The GPS said-"

"I quite heard what it said, alright. I'm sitting right beside you and it's not like I'm deaf nor blind" Louis hissed at his father. Maybe it was a bit out of line of Louis to act like a right brat but to be fair, he didn't ask for any of this. He was tired, anxious from sitting in a car for so long, stressed out and pretty much numb from his waist down from being seated for so long that he has. Mostly tired though. He would kill for a cup of coffee. Or sleeping in for a week, depended on what came first.

His ass was most definitely completely flat when he finally gets out of this suffocating metal cage his father called a car.

It wasn't his fault that his father couldn't afford their auto garage, that it didn't pull enough money in. Couldn't afford living in their old, little flat above it which Louis loved to no end with his whole heart. It was theirs and it was where he'd grown up and learned everything he knew to this day. How to change tires on his father's car and how to figure out if a car needed oil change or not, where he kissed a girl for the first time and later found out that he'd rather kiss said girl's older brother.

Which he did but details, details.

Where he had presented as an omega and not a beta as everyone'd thought he was, what the _doctors_ had told him he was after he hadn’t started presenting at the age of 12 like the rest of his classmates at that time. Louis had broken down right there, crying and screaming about it _being unfair_ and _he didn't deserve this_ while his first wave of his heat was crashing upon him, like water hitting the shore brutally and repeatedly. He pinched his thigh just from the bare thought about it.

But it was where all his memories was created, back in London. And now someone new would move into his home and ruin all those memories with new ones, it was probably the perfect family there was gonna move in with there ordinary jobs and lives.

If Louis was 16 years old again he would most definitely scream and cry about this also being very much unfair like a little child. He had some tendency to be a bit over dramatic at times.

"Louis" his father - Mark - loudly sighed his name. "I know you aren't exactly thrilled about the whole moving-away situation, I really do. Paint me as a villain as much as you like, be as negative and angry about it. Mop around, sulk and pout-"

"I do not pout" Louis murmured as he interrupted his father yet again.

He absolutely does but there’s no need to point it out.

"Yes you do and you know it, now stop interrupting me. But well son, there isn't much I can do about it. Or you can look at it on this way, it's a new beginning for the both of us, a new start. And I most certainly needed this. A much needed catch of fresh air without being confined in that shoebox of an flat we called home’’

It was not like Louis didn't already know this. Mark was absolutely miserable back in London, so was Louis in some kind of way, he wasn't delusional.

They'd fought like cats and dogs back there, they couldn't control their emotions and let it out on each other when everything became too much for either of them. Most nights they'd ended up screaming at each other than not, it wasn't a pretty sight being near.

But it was still home! London was where Louis had his friend. In all his 19 years of living he haven't left London not even once and never thought he would, neither had the need to . But look where they were now. Fucking Wiltshire of all places on earth, in the middle of nowhere!

With a annoyed groan he turned away from his dad, or at least as much as he now could since he was still strapped to the car seat cause of the seatbelt running across his chest and very much restricting his movement . Stupid bloody car. Should have been trashed years ago. It was a wonder it was still driving and not falling apart around them on these uneven roads.

He'd act like a child as much as he like thank you very much.

They were surrounded by trees upon trees, towering tall above them and made the younger boy feel so small. It almost looked like the forest were endless from inside the car, you couldn't see where it ended or where it started, ready to consume them. It creeped Louis out, like he had no control over it. As far as he knew from the little research he had done back in his old bedroom, the small town was literally surrounded by a huge forest. Who knew what was lurking out there? Louis aren't stupid, he knows there isn't bears in England but there certainly was wild deers there could attack him any given time or jump in front of their car and make them crash the car in fright. They probably had rabies too.

 _That's a bit morbid_ , Louis' subconscious told him.

His phone was buzzing in his lap brought Louis back to the real world. So far Calvin and Stan had texted him nonstop the whole ride in their group chat, asking him if he was there yet and if Wiltshire really sucked as much as Louis had said it would ( _it did_.). Frankly he didn't feel up for answering them, Stan had even tried to call him twice and the boys just couldn't take a hint that he just didn't feel like talking. He wanted to sulk and be in a piss poor mood at the moment, be a big baby about it. Even his two best mates couldn't make him feel better.

Not that Louis was willing to even gonna let them try.

Stan and Calvin had came by the old house to say their final goodbye. “ _It isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later_ ” Stan has guaranteed him with a pat on his back as he squeezed him just a tiny bit tighter than he normally would when they hugged, not that that was something there occurred often in their 13 years of friendship. Calvin had stood in the background nodding along with every assurances Stan tried to feet the blue eyed boy with a big grin on his stupid face.

They leaved shortly after they forced Louis to text them when he’d arrived.

Which Louis probably would end up forgetting anyway and they both knew that.

"And you'll probably end up liking it here in Wiltshire, just give it a chance Louis" Mark said with a small unsure smile as if he already knew it was a lost cause. But that didn't meant that he was gonna give up. That much Louis knew for sure, Mark never gave up…

"I really won't" Louis huffed and quickly turned towards his father to stare him down with a cold and icy glare. "I wanna go back home"

If only looks could kill.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Lou, stop it. Go into this situation with open arms just for once in your life. That's all I'm asking for"

"No, I want our home back in London. This is not home"

"Son-"

"For god's sake dad, it's Wiltshire!" Louis suddenly yelled out loud, shocking Mark, and waved his arms around to emphasise his point. "What is there to actually like? There's absolutely nothing here, it has nothing to offer. Couldn't you at least had chosen somewhere there was a bit closer to anything instead of ripping me away from my friends and my life? We probably have to drive for an hour just to get to the nearest fucking supermarket! It's the quite opposite, I already hate it here and we haven't even gotten there yet, can’t you see what’s wrong with that!" his voice had gotten so loud that you almost couldn't hear the rain outside pouring down around them.

He was done with everything. Filled to the brim with stress and anxiety. Angry tears was forming in the corner of his eyes, he'd no control over them and he tried blinking to get rid of them before Mark noticed them. The omega inside of him was whining loudly as he'd screamed at the alpha.

 _It's not your place to do that, you have no right to do that,_ it tried to tell Louis which he purposely ignored. Trying to push the voice away and get it under control by pinching his own thigh hard.

His father's knuckles turned snowy white from the firm and powerful grip he had on the steering wheel as he flexed his fingers around it. The petit lad could scent the anger there came from his father, it was oozing out of him. He was sure that if they were in a animation smoke would've came out of his ears and his face would have been an bright, angry red colour.

Mark wasn't known for his short temper, he was a very calm man and it usually took a lot more to push the man over the line. But enough was enough, Louis have been a down right twat the whole ride and nothing but talking back whenever Mark tried to start a conversation with him like there was no tomorrow. Having a bad attitude and making sure his dad could feel the annoyance and anger he had towards him every chance he had, Mark would probably rip Louis a new one from the savage attitude the younger man had given him for four hours straight.

A low and deep animalistic growl came from Mark, showing of his alpha authority to Louis, making the blue eyed boy sit straight line a _good little omega._

_Fuck._

"Listen, and listen carefully 'cause I'll only say this once. If you really hate it so much here as you claim you do, even though you haven't even seen the house yet, I'll like to see you try finding a job without my help so you can actually afford to live back in London, I’m not gonna stop you. But I’m sure as hell not going to pay for your rent there! Or you could see what Wiltshire actually have to offer before you turn into a judgemental child again. Am I understood?!" Louis knew he shouldn't answer the question, it was a rhetorical question. It wasn't meant to be answered.

But the deep and oh so familiar voice made him do it anyway, so he nodded quickly and mumbled a small yes. It was best to keep quiet under these kind of circumstances.

His inner omega made him submit.

His father's alpha voice was a intense, powerful and very much scary, he rarely used it and only on Louis when he was forced to or - as right there - when Louis acted like a bratty child. He hated to use it on his son and Louis hated it as much when Mark used it on him. He could count of one hand how many time Mark'd used it on him through his whole life.

When alphas use their dominant voice, known as their alpha voice, omegas couldn't help themselves but obey. No matter what the said alpha would had said, an omega and sometimes even betas (but it was very rare that happened and only if it was a powerful alpha) had to obey, submit to whatever the order was. It would mentally hurt if they tried to go against their instinct and disobey.

However, it was strictly frown upon alphas using their dominant voices on omegas they weren’t mated with or related to and will be punished if doing so. A lousy fine.

It was some fucking bullshit! He really hated his secondary gender.

All because some ancient hierarchy system an old knot head of an alpha who used to live over thousands of centuries ago had made up, had said that omegas were the weaker gender cause they could pop babies out if they wanted to.

That's why Louis loved the city so much. Just like most countries in the world, England had voted for equality rights for every gender there is was out there. So every omega and beta could get the same job as some big and burly alpha if they wanted to, with equal pay. Be the CEO of a big company if they wanted to, become highly praised doctors if they wanted to and everything in between that.

But just like everywhere else around the world, there was some small towns and cities in England there liked to live in a more " _old fashioned way_ " of living and was against every new movement and change of the law, too afraid of changes and the evolution there was going on around them whether they could help it or not. Omegas was forced to stay at home and clean, make dinner for their alphas when they got home from work or whatever they do out on no mans land. Pop babies out left and right like it was their only reason to live and please their alphas to no end. Louis had read articles written about those kind of people and it honestly frightened him that people was still being raised differently based on what gender they had, it controlled what kid of future they would have. He sincerely hoped that Wiltshire wasn't like that, Mark wouldn't have chosen a place like that to call their new home?

The awkward silence between them was almost suffocation and taking up all the air in the old beaten up car, the GPS' voice kept on talking in its lovely monotonous way. The weather outside seemed to had gotten worse, more punishing.

" _8 km straight ahead is your final destination_ "

 

 

_******** _

 

 

"So I can see that you've already bought furniture for the house, when did that exactly happen?", was the first thing Louis said to his father since the heated argument between them in the car. They were standing in their new home.

 _This will never be my home_ , was all Louis could think as he walked deeper into the new house with curious eyes fluttering all over the place to take every little detail in. Just like their old one, they also lived above his father's garage where Louis would end up working as well. The flat here was at least bigger, there was higher to the ceiling and with two floors. Or you couldn't really call it a second floor, it was just and old dusty staircase there lead up to a murky brown door Louis had yet to figure out what was hiding behind.

Everything in Wiltshire seemed brown and wet. Even the house they now lives in were a dark beige colour, which we all know is a very light brown, just like every house the drove by to get here. They all looked almost exactly the same just different colours of brown and beige with their small front yard with flowers with explosive colours there was close to dying with the weather getting colder and colder and the season going from summer to autumn. Louis weren't even trying to hate on everything here, it was just Wiltshire there made it so easy for him.

Couldn't they had decided for a bit more alluring colour there would stand out? One that didn't blend into the background like watercolour on a paper? A nice and boring red brick house would have been fine, not this bleak piece of shit of a colour.

His father put down the last cardboard box with a deep groan out of pain, the joints in his back popped as he slowly stood up with his hand on the lower of his back and his face pinched in pain.

_Old man…_

"It happened last month or so. After I signed the agreement and all that, thought it would be nice to move into a house there was already up and running, without all the hassle of going to ikea and build their worthless garbage, we both know that ikea is the creation of someone who hated the world" _true_.

Mark turned around to walk out of the small kitchen there with no doubt won't ever be used. Neither Louis or Mark could cook to save their own life, it was what Johannah did. It was a wonder they were still alive to this day with how much frozen meals they’d consumed. "You can choose whatever room you want, don't really care for any of them and they all mostly look the same"

"What's up there?" Louis was leaning up against the old staircase, nodded his head towards the brown door on the second floor.

"Just a bedroom. The biggest there is though, so I'm not sure if you'll w-"

"I'll take that one" the blue eyed lad wouldn't even let his father finish talking before making his decision, he took the duffle bags by his feet and walked up the stairs that had been collecting dust over the past month where it hadn't been used, dust bunnies floating and swayin in the wind as the blew away with each step Louis took up at the stairs.

Louis weren't actually very fond of too big room, too much space to fill out and he was never sure what to use with it. It always ended up looking like a mess.

"Yell if you need something"

"Will do!"

He pushed the door open with his shoulder which resulted in it groaning loudly in protest against the pressure, the hinges screaming for some oil. The first thing Louis noticed was the big floor to ceiling window there was pointing directly towards their backyard, behind that was the huge, endless forest. Bloody hell. Maybe Louis should've taken the room on the first floor.

He closed the door behind himself and dropped the bags on floor with a loud thud that he was sure his father could hear from downstairs, threw his backpack on the two black duffle bags. With each step he room the floor squeaked underneath him, there was no chance he could ever be quietly moving around in this house with it being so loud with just a little movement. It was a wonder it hadn't already crashes to the grounds years ago, the house was probably older than his father and him put together.

It was as clear as a cloud free day that it used to be an old attic there’s been rebuild into a bedroom. Louis’ new bedroom.

This was a bit of a change from his blue walled, shoebox of a bedroom he had back in London beside his father’s bedroom, absolutely no privacy whatsoever with their paper thin walls. The walls here was a pearly white colour and the shelves and bookshelf too. The only thing in the room with even a tiny bit of colour was the dresser there was pushed up against a wall. An of course it was brown. Like every-fucking-thing else here in Wiltshire.

Curtains, white. Bed, white. Nightstand, white.

It reminded more of a hospital room than a bedroom. Everything squeaky clean and untouched. It felt like he wasn't even allowed to touch anything in there, afraid that he'd accidentally mess something up with his dirty hands

But this was his room now. His bedroom where he will end up spending most of his days, building a new life he didn’t ask for.

His phone vibrates in his pocket, Stan and Calvin texting him.

He really fucking hated Wiltshire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first story every here on archive of our own and i'm so excited!
> 
> i have yet to figure out if i should make a schedule for whenever i'll update, maybe it'll come along the way.
> 
> and just for your information, i have no brit pick not beta so there may be some misspellings along the way since english isn't my first language.
> 
> until next time xx


	2. picture perfect smile

[ _ Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse _ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=eCyHP1rFTkiESrMRYqXy2A)

[ Jacob Banks - Worth ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=eCyHP1rFTkiESrMRYqXy2A)

  
  


A week.

It took a whole week for the Tomlinsons to fully move in and make the house properly liveable so they weren’t stumbling over cardboard boxes everytime they took more than three steps.

Everything was wrong with this house! The water took way too long to heat up in the bathroom (Louis had to stand fully naked in a cold bathroom, staring at the shower with such a hatred and despair for 10 minutes before it was even remotely close to being bearable to step inside and wash himself. 10 minutes too long), the whole flat was always freezing cold no matter how much they turned up the heater in all the rooms and the god  _ awful  _ noise the floorboards made when you as much just put your feet down on the floor. The squeaking and groaning sounded like it was taken straight out of a horror movie circulating around a haunted mansion there was ready to fall apart around you.

And how could it take a full week for them when the house already had furniture and the only thing they actually had to do themselves was to unpack boxes, put things in cabinets, on shelves and whatsoever? Even the workshop was set up ready to be used when they’d moved in for heaven’s sake. 

But no, his father's weren't exactly jumping with glee when he saw the garage and saw what condition it was in, didn't like how the previous owners had left it behind when they’d moved out

_ It looks like someone dropped a bomb in here _ , he had said when he got the first glance of it.

It really didn't.

It looked fine except the thick layer of dust there was covering most of the machinery since the things in there hadn't been touched and used for a while, and the machines was a bit outdated but nothing there couldn't be fixed with some grease and love as his father would say. At least they didn’t need to buy new, very much expensive ones if they could get them up and runing.

So as the good son Louis likes to claim he was, helped his dad renovate the whole bloody thing. 

And to be quite fair it's not like the auto garage was small in anyway.

Louis was a sweaty mess by Sunday, the sun high on the sky and there wasn't a cloud in sight. He pulled the t-shirt away from his back where it was sticking to cause of all the sweat and oil he was covered in from the process of cleansing everything and throwing useless shit out he knew they didn’t need. The shirt used be white but by now it was beginning to turn into a grey transparent mess because all of the dust, he actually quite liked that shirt…

It was like the weather here was bipolar or something, it couldn't choose if it was going to rain, snow or if there was going to be full blown sunshine and hot like satan's hell hole, constantly changing from one thing to another. And it was September! It wasn't meant to be this humid and uncomfortable hot in September, they lived in England after all. It felt like he was on a whole other continent. Where is the rain and cheek biting, cold wind at? It felt like the summer had returned and unfortunately here to stay.

Drinking from a cold water bottle, water slipping from the corner of his mouth so it was dripping down his chin and throat as he hurried with drinking, Louis couldn't care less about it at the moment. He felt like he was gonna die from dehydration at any given time if he didn't swallow the water as fast as possible.

His skin was covered in dust, grease and oil. Having to move most of his father's tools and toolboxes in the shop, you would actually think that Mark would clean them so they weren't as disgusting as they were but he hadn't done that in ages, they were all covered in black grease from all its use. Maybe Louis should clean them up himself, then it would actually get done.

Or not.

He's a good son but not a perfect one.

He'd found a small camping chair behind some boxes which he was currently sitting on (perhaps the previous owners had left it behind, they had left a lot of things), leaning back with his eyes fluttering close. Just relaxing for a moment before Mark would come down and complain and force Louis to get back to work, move other useless things around in the god forsaken house, his father was never really happy how they were and how it looked.  _ We’ll have to get in done now or else we never will _ , is what he would say if he saw Louis slacking off and taking a much deserved break from him labouring hard work.

All Louis could ask for was a nap.

And a big greasy cheeseburger with bacon in it, so disgustingly delicious and fattening so he was sure he'd gain four pounds just by looking at it a little to long. But as far as Louis knew there weren't exactly any fast food restaurants anywhere near here so he'd be forced to drive an hour just to get to the nearest McDonald's next town over. 

No thank you. He rather die from starvation than die behind a wheel cause he fell asleep.

There was a loud stomping noise that came from above him, his father was trying to set something weird and complicated up in the kitchen. Why would he even purchase stuff and gadgets to the kitchen, it'll just end up forgotten and collect dust on some shelf. They both knew that already. He’d explained that it made the whole kitchen feel more homey or something along those words. It was honestly just waste of money if you asked Louis. Who need a dumb smoothie blender anyway?

People who exercise.

Which Louis and Mark certainly do not.

"Hello?" a small voice came from outside and Louis quickly sat up straight with a small yelp out of fright which resulted in that he almost fell out of the slightly uncomfortable chair. "I thought I heard someone in there so I thought I’ll come by and say hi!”

Louis sighed loudly and annoyed. 

"Sorry we are closed until this Wednesday. But you can call the number on the sign if it's an emergency and we can see what we can do!" he yelled out loud to make sure the woman outside heard him loud and clear.

A laughter came from her after he was finish speaking. Should he be offended?

"I'm not here to get my car fixed" the voice assured.

Then why come at all?

Mark came down from the staircase behind Louis. "I'm here to welcome you guys to the neighbourhood!" She said with a giddy and happy voice which were really high and kind of sounded like a small child to Louis. Very nasal.

"Who's outside?" Mark questioned in a whisper, looking at his son with a raised eyebrow.

Louis shrugged. "Don't know. Go out and check, you're the man of this house, aren’t you?" and with a light chuckle Mark opened the huge garage door and right outside stood a petite lady with a pair of huge ladybug sunglasses. And with a pie in her hands, looking as she was taken straight out of an American movie. Very suburban woman like.

With golden blonde hair falling down her shoulders and a summer dress there was loose on her slim frame, she stepped into the slight dirty workshop and pushed the sunglasses up in her hair. Her heels clicking with each step she took, echoing in the whole garage. This woman was a walking cliche.

"Hi! Hi, my name is Anne-Louise Arkins but everyone here calls me Anne so feel free to do. I'll like to welcome you to the neighbourhood, I know it's been a week since you moved in here and- oh wow, smells a lot like alpha in here. Perhaps you folks should open some windows and freshen out. Oh, and I brought you pie, made it myself! It's a family recipe, pecan pie. Everyone loves it around here, you might say I’m a bit infamous because of it" She ended the what seemed like a never ending sentence with a big smile and a god awful giggle, showing of her bleached, straight and very much pearly white teeth. The crinkles by her eyes was the only thing there seemed the show of a bit of ageing she had done.

Botox, Louis concluded. And definitely a lot of it, it was a surprise she could even smile from all that shit that had been shot into her face. The need to stay forever young was severe with her.

"Hello Anne, it's nice to meet ya. I'm Mark Tomlinson and this is my son Louis" he pointed towards him. Anne-Louise smiled big at Louis and honestly it freaked him out a bit.

No one is this happy without half a brick up in their nose.

That's just a facts.

Mark shook her small hand. "Uh, what a strong handshake you got there, sir" she giggled, clearly flirting. Louis had to bite the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't roll his eyes at the obvious woman in front of him. She was already annoying him to no end and he wished she would leave already. And leave the pie behind please. It looked delicious and Louis could eat a whole horse at the moment. So a slice of pecan pie would do him good.

“Just call me Mark, yeah?”

“Mark it is then”

His father awkwardly laughed which made Louis snort loudly at how uncomfortable she was making him.

What a mistake that was.

Anne-Louise quickly walked over to Louis on her petite legs like a little mouse scurrying across the floor, who was in fact still sitting down in the old camping chair he'd found. She held her hand out so he could shake just like his father did. Which Louis did, he's not gonna be rude to this lady already. She seemed like the kind of type who'll be ready to spread nasty rumours around about everyone if they did her wrong, Louis isn't really into making enemies this early on.

"Hello Miss Arkin" Louis said as friendly as he could.

"What a polite young man you are, just call me Anne darling" she kept on shaking his hand while she spoke and made the situation very much awkward and weird for the both of them. 

If she could kindly let go of his hand that would be very nice.

After a second too long she finally loosen the grip she had on Louis' hand and stepped back to look around the renovated workshop they had been working on the past week. Honestly, it looked almost exactly the same as it did before. Just a tad  more clean and some new, more up to date tools and machines his father and him and installed. Louis was actually a bit proud if he had to say so himself.

Anne walked up beside his father again and laid her hand on his shoulder with a plastic smile along on her lips. Acrylic nail painted a light baby pink and gold rings on almost every finger. The woman got money that was clear. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad if his father screwed this lady. It could pay for his college and maybe he could move back to London again, on her bill though. Louis would certainly not complain about it.

"I like what you've done with the place, it needed a bit of a... what can you call it, modern touch and you city folks sure give it that. The last owner, Mr and Mrs Lennox didn't treat this place like it deserved. And your mate most definitely gave a bit of a woman's touch, am I right?" she winked at his father and clenched her hand there still around his shoulder in a what was supposed to seem like a friendly squeeze but came across as nothing but flirty. Wait what?

Both Louis and Mark stalled for a moment. And looked at each other confused. Did she just say woman's touch?

"I'm sorry, it's only my son and I who lives here" Mark assured her and he removed her hand from his shoulder. Louis slowly stood up from his chair and down right glared at this woman with his icy blue eyes but Anne-Louise didn’t notice the switch of tension in the air, too engrossed at what his father had to say about the matter of not having a mate. 

_ Make her leave. _

"No wife or mate?" she asked like she didn't understood a word there'd left Mark's lips. She had to make sure that she heard right.

"No wife or mate. Only Louis and myself"

She made a soft noise as if she liked the words Mark just had told her. Now both Louis and his inner omega wanted her to leave immediately. Now. He was quite done with this Anne-Louis Arkin character, who is she to start getting nosy about all this, ask his father all these personal questions.

Louis breathed harshly out of his nose and Mark could instantly could sense something was wrong with his son.

"How unfortunate that is. A young and handsome man like you should most definitely have a wife to take care of you with all that hard work you must do on a daily basis, being a big strong alpha”

Oh no.

"But anyway. What do you guys think of Wiltshire so far?" she jumped right into the next question without a single care about her last comment, as it was a perfectly acceptable thing to say. Pretty sure she didn't even think about what she's gonna say before she opens her mouth. No brain to mouth filter at all. So far she haven't shown anything particularly that'd make Louis think differently.

She was the perfect example of everything Louis hated. Annoying, noisy and way over the top with her whole suburban mum style she’d going. She brought a fucking pie for fuck sake!

_ Make her leave! Make her leave! Make her leave! _ , his omega screamed at him. He almost whined out loud and had to bit down in his tongue to make himself shut up.

Not now. For heaven's sake, not now.

Mark had apparently answered already and a gasp came from her.

"That's absolutely not gonna work, you have to see what Wiltshire have to offer in all its glory. What about next week, Sunday, you and your son Louis is coming over for dinner. Then you can gimme the plate back after you've ate my famous pecan pie, never heard one complain about it" how American of her. "And then my daughter, Karen, can show Louis around, him? She's a lovely beta, just like your Louis. It will be absolutely perfect. Here's my number. Call me whenever" she said, giving Mark a little piece of paper where her number was on like she'd planned this out for months. She then gave Louis the plate with the pie and then.

Then Anne-Louis Arkin just turned around and fucking left. Both Mark and Louis was shocked, they had no say in this apparently.

“What the hell just happened!” Louis questioned out loud as they both stared at the mystic lady leaving their property with a slight sway of her hips with each step she took.

“Honestly, I have no clue”

****

**_****_ **

 

 

"She's definitely on coke and you can't tell me anything that will convince me that she isn't"

"Louis, son. You can't just say people are on coke when you don't even know them, I didn't raise you like that"

"You and I both know that she's on coke or at least on something. You could see the white powder around around her nostril"

You couldn't but a little white lie never hurt anyone. Pun fully intended. And plus, Louis would rather shoot himself in the face than go to that dinner party with Anne and her probably dry as hell daughter. Louis isn't even into girls!

 

...

 

"Okay maybe-"

"I knew it!" Louis fist pumped the air out of victory and made his father laugh loudly. The kettle was on the stove, heating up water so the could drink some tea to the American pecan pie. "She's crazy, nuts, bonkers, every word there is out there that describes being psychotic"

The kettle whistled as Mark removed it, pouring the water in two cups. Louis was sitting at the small kitchen island, already finished with his first piece of pie and very much ready for his second. The lady may be crazy but she sure could bake a mean pie. Sue him but since Louis nor Mark could cook or bake for shit, cake weren't something that were often eaten in their home.

Maybe she had drugged the cake? Dropped a little drug bag in the dough?! He have to figure it out that later but first thing first, the second slice. It's all about priorities here.

 

****

 

 

Louis didn't really know how they ended up like this on this  _ lovely _ raining Tuesday with Mark and him screaming mercilessly at each other like there was no tomorrow with words there wanted nothing but to hurt and cut right into the bones like a rusty knife. Things were thrown around them and the room looked like there'd been a bypassing tornado, an absolute chaotic mess. Louis had tears streaming down his cheeks from anger and frustration, he had no control over them.

Mark kept on running his hands through his his messy and unruly hair, pulling at it as it had tried to hurt him. Growls and whines filled out the void. It felt like they were back in London, back in their own evil circle of endless spiteful words there were meant to tore each other down and open wounds there never were meant to be torn open. Hurt each other as much as possible.

Or he actually did know how it happened.

One minute they were speaking quietly, sipping their teas and everything was fine between them. Actually enjoying each other's company for once in a while.

Then Mark decided to voice his opinion about something he shouldn't had if you asked Louis.

"Louis, son" he had started out. The first thought there came to Louis' mind was  _ have I broken anything? _ , as far as the blue eyed lad knew he haven't but he could never be to sure. A year ago he broke one of their wrenches without knowing it and had to pay for it himself with they paycheck his  _ father _ gives him. He could just had bought a new one himself? "I uhm- I've thought about something for a while now. Even before her moved to Wiltshire and I personally think that I would do you-"

"Are you forcing me to move out?" Louis interrupted. "'Cause you know better than anyone else that I can't pay for it myself, plus I just went through all this hassle of moving to Wiltshire. That seems hardly fair"

His father sighed out loud with a airy chuckle as he ran his hand down his face in a stressed manner and scratches his neck just to do something with his slightly shaking hands. Louis knew that Mark only did that when he really was stressed out about something, whatever he'd thought about was eating him up inside. The young city boy didn't know if he should be worried or not. Mark was never stressed, he was the most down to earth guy he knew. Almost nothing could get his dad to get himself worked up so this was a very unusual sight for Louis.

Louis is the exact opposite of that, he will probably end up having grey hair before he turns thirty or something like. Or pull it out. Getting anxious and mad way too easy and having a bad habit of crying when things gets too much for him. Louis likes to blame it on because he's a omega, it was an easy excuse.

"No it's not, definitely not that" he chuckled nervously, his whole body tense. Louis released a breath he unconsciously had held in while took his time answering him, his palms was getting sweaty and he had to flex and stretch them to make sure he wouldn't pinch himself. 

Distract himself from the tension.

_ Just tell me goddamn it _ .

"I think… This is nothing against you as a person but I really think it might be a good idea for you to start seeing a therapist of some sort" and. And Louis didn't really saw that one coming. Out of all the things his father would’ve said that was not what Louis expected to leave his mouth.

' _ You should clean up your room more often' _ , would have been more in that direction Louis had thought he was gonna say.

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, speechless. It felt like someone was pressed down on his chest, he felt out of breath. It was almost as if he'd gotten a slap to the face.

_ A therapist. A fucking shrink! _

Louis huffed. "A therapist?" He choose to say instead of voicing his thoughts. He had to let his father explain himself so he perhaps could save his own ass.

_ Inhale, exhale, _ Louis told himself in his subconscious.

Mark nodded silently as he looked down at his own hands there clasped tightly together as if they was the most exciting thing in the world right at that moment. He knew that his son wouldn't have a pleasant reaction from his words, he wasn't stupid.

“And what makes you think I need a therapist?”

Louis was afraid to talking about his feelings, avoided it at all cost and would get down right angry sometimes if you tried to sit him down and ask how he was feeling. It was impossible to get close to him, climbing over the tall walls Louis had build around himself was not realistic anymore. Most of the time you'll have to wait until Louis exploded like a bloody ticking time bomb from keeping everything inside himself and the aftermath of it was always a chaotic and vicious.

"Lou, you have to know that I'm just worried and I really think that speaking with someone, someone there's a professional who isn't me, about everything would sincerely do you good in the long run" Mark explained to his son which resulted with Louis rolling his eyes aggressively at him.

And wasn’t that just a load of bullshit spewing right at him? It was all bullshit his father tried to fed him and he was certainly not having it.

"That’s honest to god why you think I need to see a therapist? Do you actually think I believe in that?" Louis hissed, leaning closer to his dad with a cold, remorseless glare af if there was a storm going on behind his icy eyes, a havoc starting the build inside of his chest. Mark was sitting calm and collected like Louis hadn’t said anything at all. It really pissed Louis off. He wanted to get a reaction out of him, wanted to make him scream brutal words at each other. Something Louis could make sense of. "Am I too much of a burden to you now, huh?! A psychotic mess you can't handle anymore?!"

The elder man looked up at his son after his spiteful words came out. He shook his head slowly with a pitiful growl, playing the victim.  _ What an alpha _ , Louis thought sarcastically. 

"You know that’s not even remotely close to truth so don’t twist my words. You're never a burden to me, you're my son and I do have my right to worry about you as a father, as a  _ friend _ . I only want the best for you, why can't you see that?" his father guaranteed him, or at least tried to. Louis didn't believe a word that just left that man's mouth. He wanted the real reason as raw and unapologetic it may been. Not this sugarcoated excuse his father was trying to fed him. Wanted him to believe.

No chance in hell.

"Bullshit" Louis spat. "That some fucking bullshit! Tell me the real reason now!" Louis stood up fast and started to pace the living room like a caged wild animal. His inner omega wasn't whining at him for yelling at a alpha, finally shutting up and letting Louis take full control of the situation without it being a pitiful disaster in the back of his mind, he didn't need some stupid distress voice inside himself trying to tell him he was doing the wrong thing yelling at a alpha. To hell with his inner omega, he didn’t need it. He'll scream at his father as much as it pleased him.

Mark slowly stood up from the black leather couch, towering over Louis. His broad shoulders so tense it almost looked painful.

"Would you please just calm down Louis, let's talk about this like grown ups instead of screaming at each other" he tried to reasoning and fairly Louis did not give two shits. "And it is the real reaso-"

"It's because of mum, innit? Cause she's dead and you can't seem to get over it, but fuck me, right? I’m the one who needs to get help? You had to flee from our home in hope that you'll magically get over it, taking me with you and completely ripping me from my life. Maybe it's you who needs to seek some help and not try to force me to do it?! Just because I don't feel the need to talk about her every given second, she's dead and let her fucking stay dead, Johannah isn't coming back and you need to realise that! She's buried ten feet under and will stay like that! You can’t bring her back, no one can!"

And that sure got a reaction out of his father. Louis hadn't spoken a word about Johannah's death since they left the funeral. That was over a year ago.

It was as if Mark's eyes glowed from all the anger there was bubbling inside of his body, a low and deep snarls came from his lips. He clenched his fist tightly, normally Louis'd be scared by now but the blue eyed lad was shaking from all the energy that was buzzing underneath his skins, that was coursing through his petite body. He wanted to scream, punch things and rip his own hair out of his head from it. He had no control over it, he felt like a wild animal like he could pounce any given moment.

"Don't you dare to talk about your mother like that!" Mark growled loudly, almost deafening. "Yeah maybe it is the reason and perhaps it's because you can't talk with me about anything and you won’t. It’s tearing me apart. You're like a ticking time bomb Louis, I never know when you're gonna go off next and frankly I can't handle it! Before we moved here we either screamed at each other or was quiet when we didn't and stayed away from each other at all costs, I didn't want it to end up like this but you need to see someone and it sure looks like from all of this that I can't be the one who you're going to open up to!"

Louis stepped back as his father yelled at him, trying to process the words that was screamed. Tears was starting to form in the corner of his eyes and Louis huffed out of frustration. He did talk to his father, just because he didn't tell him everything it didn't mean that he had to see some sort of therapist. Mark wasn't entitled to know everything there goes on in his head, every goddamn thought he had. He was 19 and very much an adult with his own life.

No, screw him. He didn't need this.

"Is that the only reasons you can give me? Cause my mum is dead and I won't talk to you about my  _ feelings _ ? Can't you see how that makes abso-"

"And maybe because you hide your secondary gender to people like you’ll die if they found out you are an omega, that you'd rather let them think and believe that you're a beta than an what you really are? You're walking around with so much anger and self hatred inside of you and it all started when you presented as a omega three years ago, that sure can't be healthy Louis! You hate being an omega so much that you take every scent blocking medication and product there is out there for it even if they damage you from the inside, I mean Jesus Louis, you take heat suppressants so your heats only last three days instead of six. You  _ know _ they make you infertile in the long run and you still take them! Suppressants shouldn’t be used long-term but here you are, on your second year or so on them and not stopping any time soon”

What? How?

How did he know all that, Louis have never asked him to buy anything for him beside scent blocking spray that one time. What? He was so confused, felt watched.

Johannah must had told him before she died, of course she had. She was the only one who knew, the only one who he’d trusted enough to share his filthy secret with. It was frowned upon taking heat suppressants, most pharmacies didn't even sell it because of the severe damage you could suffer from it's intake.

She'd promised not to tell anyone. Not even his father.

Louis hadn't even noticed that he had started to pick up the pillows from the couch and hurl them towards his father. He needed something harder, something that'll actually hurt.

"How do you know that?!" He screamed, demanding to know.

"Louis, stop it!" his father yelled, but Louis couldn't hear him. It was like his ears was stuffed with cotton, he was in his own mindset, black dots was forming in the corner of his eyes as he started to feel dizzy. Tears was running down his cheeks. "Lord, Louis not the vase!"

"Tell me, how did you know that?!" He kept on screaming, whining and growling. The vase was thrown at his father but it smashed against the wall behind Mark cause he ducked it  before it could hit his head. 

“Fucking hell, Louis stop it!”

"Did mum tell you? She promised not to tell anyone, she lied to me!" another pillow were thrown as he sobbed loudly, he couldn't catch his breath. His chest was hurting and caving in on itself. That energy that had buzzed around in him went out like a candle in the wind and he was left feeling empty. Void from any emotion and light inside him.

Drowning, he was drowning. He could hear waves, water was swallowing him whole. 

Drowning. Everything hurt. He couldn't breathe.

She lied. She lied to him, she promised never to tell anyone it.

All of suddenly Louis dropped to the floor with a heart wrenching and raw sob, he felt betrayed by his own goddamn mother. How can she even betray him when she's dead?

"She fucking lied"

"Louis!" He felt two arms around him as his head was pressed against a hard chest, scratchy fabric against his cheek as they slid down on the floor before Louis’ legs would give up right under him while distressing whines left his mouth.

A familiar scent filled his nostril and his surroundings, making him feel a bit more safe. His father's scent always made him feel safe, it felt like home and always smelled a bit like oil and leather. It smelled like home.

His sight was a bit fuzzy, he couldn't see anything, the blue eyed lad kept on mumbling unintelligible words. Maybe he was still under water.

But he didn't feel like drowning anymore.

Someone was petting his hair and nosing behind his ear and scenting the air around them, it was his father. It felt nice. I rather liked if he kept on doing that. If his omega preened at the attention Louis didn't even care.

Didn't care if his father scented him as if he was a small child and needed protection.

"Your mum told me, more like she wrote it to me. In a letter" he confessed. "I know you got one too" he did. Johannah had written them both a letter days before she had died, she knew that she was on her last days and wrote them both a letter which they got when she had passed in the cold, white hospital bed, by a lovely nurse who'd been there since the start.

Since the first day that the doctors had told his mother that she got leukaemia.

"Said that I had to look after you since she couldn't anymore, I promised her that much. You are just making it very difficult for me but I love you with all my heart son, I know that I don't show it as much as I wished i would but please know that I do. Can't handle it if I also lose you too" by the end of the sentence his father had pulled him so tight into his chest which made Louis feel like a small kid again.

"Love you too" Louis mumbled.

They say on the floor for what felt like hours, embracing each other before either of them moved.

"I'll think about the whole therapist thing, alright?"

"That's all I can ask for right now"

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Louis spend the rest of the day in his bed, what he had concluded was a panic attack took a lot of energy out of him. His father had checked on him a few times, asking him if he was hungry but he had no appetite. He just felt tired but sleep wouldn't come easy. He never slept well in strange surrounding and he hadn't gotten used to his bedroom yet. Probably never would. He was actually kind of missing his baby blue wall in his old bedroom, never thought he will think that but here they was.

Thoughts was running around his head and wouldn't stop, making him feel restless and confused. First the whole therapist thing and then the mention of his mother. It was a lot for him and it was taking a toll on Louis.

His laptop was on his thighs, heating him up, playing some series Louis haven't really paid much attention to. It was still raining outside, the weather today had been horrendous but matching perfectly up with Louis' mood. It was already dark outside and Louis had a few candles lit so it would brighten up his bedroom.

Stan had texted him earlier, asked him how he was and if they were done with setting everything up in their home.

They had texted back and forth about pointless things. The house was silent, Mark had gone to bed earlier, wanted to haven a restful sleep. He had to open the auto garage up early tomorrow, he had to make sure that everything was in perfect condition before opening its doors for the first time for the public. He had told Louis that he could come down anytime he wanted to and Louis was absolutely grateful that he didn't have to wake up with the birds tomorrow, he had a feeling he wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

_ Bzz bzz _ .

With a sigh, Louis picked up is old iPhone 5, the screen was cracked and it was a wonder how it still worked after all it's fall it had taken to the concrete floor in their old workplace.

_ Calvin broke his arm last week when he wanted to show how much of an alpha he was to some random bird in our math class _ , Stan texted. Stan and Calvin went to the same college, they could pay for it. Louis couldn't, he wanted to go though. He really did but when your father's failing garage is the only income there was it's a bit unrealistic.

_ Calvin is a nassive idiot and we both know that, _ Louis wrote back and laid the phone back on his bed beside him. He was surrounded by a mountain of pillows, he felt safe like that. Most people found it weird that Louis slept with at least six pillows around him but to hell with them.

Thunder was heard outside, when did that start? The trees outside was moving wildly, the harsh wind was blowing them back and forth almost looked like they were dancing together. Like a they were having a big ball or something like that.

With a curious gaze Louis pulled the duvet away and stood up from the big bed. He walked over to the floor to ceiling window, he hadn't pulled the curtains for yet so he could see everything outside. A big lightning bolt lit everything up for a second, it was close. He started to mentally count for the next time the lightning strike and light up again. His mother had told him when he was younger that if he counted for the next lightning bolt you could tell how close it was when the loud thunder could be heard.

She would run her long slim fingers through his messy hair while they sat in Louis’ old bed and she tried to calm him down, sobs shaking his whole body as he cried out in fear. Always gentle with him like he was gonna break if she held him too tight.

“ _ Wanna play a little game with me? _ ” she’s said with the most beautiful smile taking over her face and looking down at him to make sure she’d captivated Louis’ attention fully and he wasn’t focusing on the rain and thunder going on outside his bedroom window. Louis had nodded his head eagerly, he was alway up for playing games and especially with his mum. “ _ Alright love, when there’s another flash of lightning let’s count how much it takes to we hear a thunder, that way we can tell how far away it is, okay? So for every five second that’s one whooole mile away from us _ ”

So they had sat there, counting around six lightnings and thunders and everything Johanna told Louis how far away it was with a soft sleepy smile, counting enough so finally started to feel the tiredness take over him and lull him into a restful sleep before he even noticed he’d closed his eyes. 

_ 6, 7, 8, 9- _

The lightning lit up again and went away as fast as it came.

Louis stared out on the big forest. This was a part of his home now, he had to get used to it also being there and probably there to stay for good.

Another lightning came but this time Louis saw something out of the corner of his eyes. A big, black silhouette. Hunched over on all four legs.

What the hell was that?

He started to count again, hoping that it would come closer this time so he could tell himself that it was just his mind playing games with him. It trying to make sense of the blurry darkness of the woods.

Yet another lightning strikes again.

Red eyes staring right back at him like they knew he’d been staring at them.

_ Red eyes _ .

Louis fell to the floor with a loud gasp, the floor underneath him groaned in protest. He scrambled away from the window, his heart beating fast as if it was trying to burst through his ribcage and he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears.

What the fuck?!

Red eyes.

That couldn't be real. It was all in his head!

As fast as he could he crawled over to the window again, trying to see if the eyes still was there, staring directly at him.

They were gone as fast as it came, of course there were cause they didn't exist. It was Louis' childish mind that wanted him to believe there was something. Or maybe it was those wild deers.

Jesus Christ, maybe he needed to seek a therapist after all.


	3. have you ever felt your neck skin crawl

_[Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=MWoCwjA0SDGJn88BUFr0_w) _

 

"So every Thursday, 3:30 pm?" his father repeated the exact words that had just left the receptionist's mouth less than a second ago. Louis felt like a small kid, like he couldn't even make his own appointment without his parent's help and they had to do it for him. Trust him, he really wanted to go alone and do this by himself but Mark had said he wanted to go with him, apparently not trusting him enough to actually _make_ an appointment with the therapist. Who he in fact hadn't even met yet.

For god's sake, he was 19 years old, he knows how these things works!

Kinda.

Well not really, but he likes to think he does.

Marks had spend the whole day research on the Internet the next day after the big spat, trying to find the closest therapist near them, apparently Wiltshire didn’t offer any, and one that was actually affordable and specialised in omegas and the complexity of their mentality.

They were inside a tall white building right outside of Wiltshire, a " _short_ " drive. Whole 20 minutes. All that for an hour and a half meeting with someone who could help Louis with his " _problems_ ". He really hoped that his dad wouldn't come to every single appointment and " _hold his hand_ " as support. This was embarrassing enough as it is.

"Yes sir, every Thursday" okay now they were just repeating themselves.

Louis wanted to get home, lay under his duvet and watch _Games of Thrones_ or something equally dramatic and disturbing like that to take his mind off everything. Maybe sleep. Sleep hadn't came easily these couple of days, he felt a bit like a tired zombie walking around in an endless circle of never ending sleep deprivation and living on way too much caffeine for a guy only being 19 years old. He hadn't gotten used to his new room yet, Louis always had a problem with sleeping in strange surroundings.

His mind was mushy and a bit confused at times, as if it wasn't sure what was going around him and he couldn’t keep up. Restless, as if there was a buzz underneath his skin there wouldn't stop or stay still for one goddamn minute, coursing through his whole body at the speed of light. It was annoying Louis to no end. His mind couldn't stop thinking about those red eyes he saw inside the forest, staring directly at him like they could see his soul.

He shook his head tried to get rid of the morbid thoughts.

"Doctor Tewers would normally come and greet his new patients but his a bit busy at the moment, so you'll probably first meet him at your appointment" the dark haired lady told him.

"Sure" Louis mumbled under his breath. He pulled the black jean jacket closer to himself, feeling uncomfortable under the beta's brown eyes. She stared too much. It was weird. Like she tried to over analyse everything about him and she could tell what he was thinking about in that exact moment. "Whatever"

" _Louis_ " his father knocked into his side with his elbow and frankly it hurt a bit but Louis wouldn't show weakness. Especially not there. In front of all this strangers there was sitting in the reception, waiting for their turn to be " _cured_ " and get their perfect, delusional plastic smile back as what they had been going through never existed in the first place. Louis hoped that he wouldn't end up like that. A mess who lied to themselves about not being way they are, a hot fucking mess.

Louis knew that he had some... anger issues if you wanted to call them that. But nothing he couldn't control or handle, he didn't knew why he actually agreed to see Doctor Tewers. Perhaps if he did he it would make Mark happy and content. Louis finally was getting fixed now.

The two Tomlinsons said their goodbyes, Louis got a little white card where his therapist's number was on if he wanted to cancel an appointment or make a new one, and walked out of the tall, blinding white building. The therapy facility was in a city right outside of Wiltshire, it had a lot more to offer here. Stores and fast food restaurants, all Louis could ask for. They could had moved here instead.

"So anything you need to buy while we're here? Food, candles, birth controls and condoms?"

"Dad! Jesus Christ!" Louis said loudly with wide eyes, his mouth hanging a bit open out of shock. Never had his father asked him this and now Louis understood why. It was bloody traumatising. "Why you gotta make it all weird now?"

Mark laughed awkwardly and scratched his neck, his cheeks turning a bright rouge colour.

"I rather be safe than sorry. What if you meet some alpha? I'm way too young to be a grandpa" he joked and Louis just shook his head and walked over to their car. "Hey, you know that I'm only asking for your sake" he yelled after him, followed Louis' steps.

"Stop worrying then, it's creepy and awkward. We never done that before so why you thought today was the day to that?" he opened the door to the passenger seat and sat down with a embarrassed huff. Just because what happened Tuesday it didn't mean that his father could go around and ask him nosy questions like that and get up up in his business all of suddenly. "And trust me, I most certainly won't find an alpha here in Wiltshire"

Mark started the car with a light chuckle and put on his seatbelt, drove away from the building with a him murmuring under his breath _you wouldn't know that already._

People was walking around the street on the late September day, it was Friday and most of them couldn't wait to go home a spend their weekend on absolutely nothing, or maybe getting as pissed as was humanly possible. Trying to forget their week, drink their weight in alcohol. Most of these people probably hated their jobs, hated their everyday lives and wished something exciting would come into their live. Walking around an endless circle of void. Some of them maybe saw a therapist just like Louis was going to.

"No but for real Louis, do you actually need something?" his dad asked pulling Louis out of his own thoughts.

Louis did need something actually.

His stash of scent hiding spray was getting empty. He voiced his thought to his father who clicked his tongue but just nodded anyway without commenting. Now that Louis knew that his father was kind of against him hiding that he was an omega he felt a bit awkward about the whole situation, he shouldn't. It didn't concern his father what he choose to do, if he wanted to hide he was a omega he damn well will do it. It wasn’t affect him in any way.

It was a topic there won't be spoken of.

The thick silence grew between them as Mark drove up to the pharmacy, normally scentblocking spray was only used when an omega when into heat so the smell wasn't so prominent and everyone wasn't drowning in the pheromones but Louis used it as if was perfume and deodorant, almost bathing himself in it everyday, sometimes more than twice on on a day if he felt like his scent was coming on too strong.

As his father stepped out of the car Louis tugged on his blue and black plaid shirt with a bit of hesitation to it so he turned around with a eyebrow lifted in question.

“Yeah?”

"Please buy five" Louis softly begged him.

"Loui-"

"I-please just buy five. I'll make dinner tonight if you don't ask question" Louis whined, his omega coming out from its hiding place. _Of course it did_.

With a deep sigh Mark nodded, murmuring a low _sure_ , and closed the door behind him.

Louis waited in their old Volvo Golf 3, the radio playing some old Black Sabbath number Louis couldn't name. It was a wonder the radio still worked after all this years, after all the car was way older than him. His father had gotten this car when he turned 20, a year before he had met the young lad's mother. He'd heard stories about this car from his mother that he wish he hadn't.

Stories a son should never had known in the first place.

He shuddered at the thought what Johannah and Mark did in here.

Louis looked out of the window with a solum stare, the weather was grey and cold. He couldn't understand it. It changed every minute here, one day it felt like it was summer and the next it felt like the biting winter was here to stay. Raining cats and dog some might say.

Mark opened the car door again with a small sigh, lightly threw the white bag in Louis lap. Without any words spoken between them he started the car up yet again and drove back to Wiltshire. Mark turned the radio up, clear sign that he wasn’t in the mood to speak to Louis.

 _What have I done know?_ , Louis thought to himself. His omega wanted to grumble and whine a little because the alpha was mad with him and it didn't know the reason why , Louis playing pinched his own thigh hard enough so it'll bruise to make his inner omega shut up, making it stop invading his thoughts. It was a bad habit of his, he should maybe talk with his new therapist about the pinching thing. It would be a great way to start.

His inner omega was popping up more often than not these past days, more than it ever has in his entire life. Ever since they’d moved to Wiltshire it has gone insane, it almost felt like he couldn't keep control of it like he normally could and hence why his thighs always was covered in bruises, it was the only metode he knew there could make it quiet and zimmer down for some time being.

Until it found the next thing to start whining about.

When they was around 10 minutes away from their home Mark decided to speak up about his problems.

"They asked if I was hiding an omega at home since I bought so many of those sprays" he sighed. "Or if my omega's scent was so good I wanted to hide it from everybody else, like I’m some obsessive alpha keeping his omega in a cellar" his knuckles turned white from his brutally tight grip on the wheel and made Louis think back on their first trip to their new home.

"What did you answer?" Louis whispered, afraid of the answer.

"I didn't. I payed and then left"

"Why?"

"Cause they wanted an reaction and I didn't want to give it to them. I'm just mad about the whole situation, Louis"

“Then there’s no need for being angry about it, it’s over and done”

He shouldn't. It was none of his business anyway. This was Louis' life and he choose how to live it. He didn't choose to be an omega and if there was a cure or some sort of option of him being an beta he would had done that three years ago and then he wouldn't had to be in this mess in the first place.

"Stop the pity party you're having there, I don't want to listen to it" now Louis turned the radio almost all the way up. He didn't want another fight, he couldn't muster up enough energy for it. He was tired and his body hurt from tossing and turning the whole night. If he couldn't sleep at night he might as well do it when it's light outside.

 

 

**_****_ **

  


The tense silence didn't go away rest of the day. Mark kept to himself and as well did Louis. Napping on the couch while his dad was down in the workshop, talking with some customer and fixing up cars. Ignoring each other’s existences completely.

Just like the good old days back in London.

It didn't go away either while Louis was making dinner as he promised his father, spaghetti with meatballs, one of the only things knew how to cook well enough for it to be eatable. The only noise there filled out the quietness was forks hitting against the old ikea plates and his father's grumbling around the food in his mouth. Louis' body felt weirdly stiff from sleeping in the couch, he had woken up with a blanket over him which his father probably had put over him while he was taking a break from the work downstairs.

"So, I called Anne-Louise" his father started out making Louis choke on his food. A confused noise left him before he could stop himself. Why would he do that?

Louis slammed his hand against his chest, trying to get the meatball there was stuck in his throat go down before he would die from suffocation. Not a pretty way to go, Louis would rather go in a much cooler way than being choked to death by a meatball.

"The hell you did?" Louis said loudly, looked confused at his father with raised eyebrows. "Why would you even do that in the first place, I thought we came to an agreement that she was batshit crazy?”

"Shush now, you know we didn’t so quit being dramatic and we're going to that dinner party this Sunday"

“Hah, funny. No we aren’t”

“I’m not taking the piss here, Louis. We are going”

_No, no, no, no._

No way in hell Louis was going over to that lady's house and sit there for god knows how long and try to seem like he was actually enjoying himself in her company, eat her probably dry as sand chicken and mingle with her daughter who'd end up being as boring as the dead chicken. Mark could not make him go. He rather slam his head against a wall repeatedly a day for a year than go over there to her little ‘’tea party’’.

"I'm not going. You can go an waste your night on Miss Botox and her daughter, I'll stay here and take care of the house or something like that. Make sure no one steals anything"

"Louis, you're going. I already told her that and she was so excited" Mark guaranteed him, that didn't make Louis feel better though. Much worse actually. Miss Arkins weren't interested in him, no, she was way more into his father and she wouldn't probably care if Louis didn't show up at all. Then she didn't have to distract him and push her daughter on him. Karina or something like that.

Louis huffed loudly and crossed his arms across his chest in a childish manner. "No, I'm not. Call her and tell her that I'm sick"

"Yes you are and I won't call her and tell her lies. We both need to meet some new people here, we can't just not talk to people who lived here for their whole life. How are we supposed to meet new people then?"

"Tell her I went into heat, I don't even care that see thinks I'm an beta. I don't wanna go" he pouted and loudly protested.

"Lou, stop it. You're going"

"I am not going and stop saying I am!"

"Louis this is the final decision, we're going! Stop acting like a child"

Louis pushed himself away from the table and growled loud and clear at his dad, stood up and took his plate with him. He threw it in the kitchen sink and broke the ugly red plate in the process. It made his father stood up quickly but Louis didn't care, he walked right out of the kitchen with fast steps. He needed to go away, breathe some fresh air or something.

_Imma show you child._

"Where do you think you're going?!" his father yelled at him, following him hot in his heels. Growling like a mad dog at his son.

Fuck him.

"Out, can't be here right now" Louis confessed, already pulling the black jeans jacket on and stepping into his used converse. He couldn't stand the sight of his father right now, so disappointed. How could he do this to him when he knew that Louis didn't want to go in the first place. What a selfish thing to do just because he want to mingle with the people here, Louis didn't ask for any of this!

"Oh I don't think so"

"Then you're thinking wrong. Don't know when I'll be back, don't stay up and wait for me" and then he opened the door and slammed it right in his father's face, the door muted his father yelling his name. With a fast pace he walked down the stairs to make sure Mark wasn't following him this time. He couldn't hear the door being opened again so he was pretty sure got the drift that Louis needed to be alone.

Living with an alpha could get too much for the blue eyed lad at times, it was getting on his last nerves. He was gone die from a heart attack before he turned 20 cause of all the stress.

Johannah was an omega too so they could team up against his father when his head got a tad to big for his own good. But with his mum gone it was just his father and him left. And Louis needed to breathe sometimes, just needed to leave. In London he could just stay with Calvin or Stan but now that he knew no one it was a bit difficult and with the both of them going to college they just couldn't come and pick him up any time he felt he needed to go away.

It wasn't the first time Louis had ran out of the house out of anger, he used to do it all the time when he was younger when things didn't go his way and actually had places where he could go. Mostly Stan's house though.

When he was sixteen he ran " _away_ " at least seven times in a month, escaped to his best friend's house and would stay for three days or so. Of course as the lovely lady Stan's mother was, she would always call Louis' parents and inform them where his whereabouts was so they wouldn't had to worry about their son's live being in danger and search London thin in search of their son. It wasn't the smartest idea to run away, being an unmated omega roaming the streets of London, there'll always be alphas out there who'd only think with their knots.

With a deep sigh he started to walk down the dark street, illuminated by the street light. People were inside their houses, eating dinner with their happy little family, ignoring every problem in the world. Every house looked the same here, either beige or a muddy brown colour. White picket fence, the whole shenanigans. Louis felt like he was stuck in some film from the 60's. What absolute lot of shite this was.

It was already pretty dark outside and Louis regretted a bit that he hadn't taken his headphones with him while he was escaping his father. He could do with some music now. Some really angry music, something that would make him want to throw things and punch a bee or something equally as fucked up as that.

His hands was stuffed deeply into his pockets and his eyes were pointed down at his walking feet, kicking the few pebbles there was laying in the street with more force than needed. He knew nothing here, not where he was going or where to even go at all. Glad that he actually had his phone on him though so he could call-.

He couldn't call his father.

Well shit. Maybe he would just call the police if he really got lost. Make them get him and drive him home. Freeride and all that. Maybe that wasn't such a bad of an idea after all.

Lost in his own thought, Louis hadn't noticed where he was walking, turning corners whenever he felt like it. He didn't pay attention to where he went. It was getting darker and darker around him, he didn't pick up that his surrounding was changing, that the houses got fewer and fewer the longer he walked, the same with the street light.

Until the blue eyed lad noticed that he was right at the beginning of the forest. He stopped up with a little yelp, looking around him with wide eyes. He could still see the houses behind him, the light from them and the light there shone from the street lights.

This was such a bad idea. He could feel his heart speed up and he gulped aloud. This was a really bad idea but hell no he wasn't walking back to his house now. It wasn't like Louis was stupid and was gonna walk deeper into the horrible forest.

If he just kept on walking in the outskirts of the forest where it meets the town. Nothing was gonna happen if he just stayed clear minded and kept walking straight ahead, no further into the forest. Not that there actually was gonna happen anything to him. Anything was better than being home with his father at that moment. Call him childish or whatever, Louis didn't care much.

Stupid knot head of a father. Stupid Wiltshire and everything it represents and stand for. Mark had said they needed to move there so they'd get a better relationship and all that but see where they was now. Still fighting! Not even Wiltshire could help them with that no matter how hard he wished for it.

He should really look into getting a job somewhere else so he could move out and finally live for himself. Actually getting a life outside of his father's auto shop.

He kept on walking, he could still see houses beside him further away. The city boy could actually see his own home from here. His big floor to ceiling window there showed of his bedroom. He really should had pulled those curtain for. Who knows who would look straight into his bedroom and stalk Louis.

Small twigs underneath his foot made a little noises with each step he took, broke as he stepped on them and kicking small pebbles as if it would help him get the anger out of his system. He lit up the almost invisible path where he was walking with the flashlight from his phone so he could see where I stepped and wouldn't fall over some big log.

Maybe his father was starting to getting worried about him, making himself feel he was sorry that he was forcing Louis to attend the dinner party with Anne-Louise Arkins. It's been a little over an hour since Louis left. The young lad hoped that when he returned his father had thought about it and would pull is agreement back.

Louis huffed out loud just from the bare thought. It pissed Louis off that he had no say in this, that he was just expecting to sit there and agree with his father that he wanted to go, with big smile on his lips like any good omega would. And Louis' inner omega certainly wanted him to sit there and nod but no. No wouldn't do that. He is so much more than that. He was an independent human who had so much to offer than just him being an omega and he sure-.

Somewhere from behind him a branch broke.

His stopped up, senses on high alert and an alarm went off inside of his head. He turned around with his little flashlight. He was sure he heard something way bigger than a twig break behind him. He should go back.

Fuck. Fuck he should really get back. He was so not into this. It's probably those wild deers roaming around here.

With rabies.

With slow steps, trying to make sure that he made as little noise as humanly possible, he walked backwards just to make sure that he didn't actually hear anything behind him.

It was all in his mind, he tried to tell himself.

_You're trying to make sense of the darkness and the silence. It's the only logical explanation._

Shadows are not evil.

Darkness are not evil.

As Louis slowly walked back to where he came from he heard it again.

Bushes wiggled in front of him, his hands started to shake violently and sweat was running down from his forehead. Adrenaline was coursing through his body and the fight or flight instinct was screaming at him in his mind to react. Even his inner omega was shaking out of fright and finally something Louis agreed with it on.

Then a white rabbit jumped out of the bushes.

"A bloody rabbit" Louis actually got a bit mad at himself that he let himself get so scared  and riled up about absolutely nothing. There no dangerous animals in England and there no need to be so afraid. The worst thing that could had happened was if there was a living criminal walking around in these areas which was pretty unlikely or else he’d probably heard about it by now. Or heard him.

Humans aren’t known to be the most quiet species after all.

He chuckled quietly as the small rabbit jumped closer to him. He didn't want to scare it away, it was kind of cute actually.

Louis never had a pet before but it wouldn't be fair for the little thing if Louis took it home when it was used to live in a big forest where the food was limitless and where it could spend its days happy and carefree.

He slowly kneeled down trying his best not to scare the rabbit. When his knees were pressed down into the muddy ground, soaking his knees and leaving two brown spots there, the rabbit jumped closer and sniffed Louis' leg. Well perhaps this was Louis' talent. A bunny whisper.

The boy wanted the giggle, the whole situation was absurd. There he was, sitting in some god forsaken forest in the middle of nowhere and petting a wild rabbit. Louis should really documented that.

All of suddenly the rabbit scrambled away as fast as it could on its small feet and almost fell over with its inhuman speed. Running the opposite direction of Louis and what the hell?

Louis could hear a deafening growl from his left side, deeper in the forest. There was no way that the sound came from a human. It sounded closer to a bear than anything else.

There’s no bears in England.

With shaking legs, sweat pearls forming at his temple, Louis stood up from the muddy and moist ground. His eyes searching for whatever that had made that bone rattling noise. His palms was getting sweaty and his breath was ragged as he heaved after it desperately.

He felt a lot like panicking. Like he wanted to scream until his lungs bleed for seer force from it.

A black silhouette could be seen further into the forest, hunched over, tall and all Louis could see was two beady eyes staring directly at him. Memories from yesterday popped up in his mind.

The red eyes. But these weren't red, it was too dark to even see the colour of them but he was sure they weren't red.

The shadow looked exactly the same, except this thing was a bit smaller. Even Louis could see that from afar. But nothing less still scared him to death.

A stream of endless snarls and growls left the beast as it stalked closer and closer, it's back raised high. It looked ready to attack.

Louis couldn't move. He couldn't fucking move. It was like his feet was glued to the ground, staring at the thing moving closer towards him. Hunting down its prey and feast on it.

Paralysed out of fright.

This sure as the night was no deer with rabies.

 _Flight, flight, flight! Run!_ , his mind screamed at him. Louis was choking on his breath as if he couldn't pull enough air into his lungs and at the same time too much came in. White noise filled out the silence, it almost hurt with how loud it was ringing his ears.

Until.

Until the beast let out a loud howl that left Louis' ears ringing from the aftermath of it. It started to run, run right towards Louis. It's jaw snapping at the air as it was biting into Louis skin already. First there Louis turned around, almost falling from how quickly he moved and started to run.

_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die._

It was like his feet didn't even touch the ground from how fast he was moving. Jumping over fallen logs and pushing away branches and twigs from his face so they wouldn't scratch him. His hands was bleeding but Louis couldn't feel a thing. The adrenaline pumping through him was making him numb from the pain. The only thought there was running through his mind was to get away as fast as humanly possible before it got to him.

He could hear the beast's paws pounding against the ground, effortlessly breaking bushes and branches along its way. Ready to kill Louis. He wasn't even sure how close it was but Louis wasn't gonna look back and get a glimpse of it the nightmare inducing thing right on his feet.

Somewhere along the escape Louis had dropped his phone.

"Help!" Louis screamed. He hadn't even noticed that he was starting to cry, sobs left his mouth uncontrollably as he ran. He could still hear the beast behind him, snarling loudly, howling. Like it was calling for its friends for backup.

Oh god.

The tangy smell of metallic filled Louis nostrils, making Louis' gag reflexes go wild. Blood.

Was he bleeding? Louis couldn't feel any pain. If Louis opened his mouth to scream for help again he was sure he would get sick all over himself and that wouldn't do. He couldn't stop now.

As his feet pounded against the ground, he could see the beginning of the roof of his house. Louis wanted to cry out in joy.

Home.

Louis wasn't even sure that he could move faster than he already was but the feeling of the beast behind him got closer made him do it. He felt like he could drop to the ground anytime soon but he wasn't ready to die. Not this close to home. Not when he is this close to surviving.

The snapping jaws from the monster got closer and closer while Louis could see the tall fence that had around their backyards. He had to jump over it. He was gonna jump over it!

With a sharp turn as he tried to get the monster off his trail and the last of his energy he had left in his body he pushed himself to the point of where he felt like he could taste blood in his own mouth and he had to puke, he pulled himself over the fence. Dropping to the ground with a thud, his back hurting from the fall as it punching the remaining air he had in his lungs out with a loud and painful groan.

He could see the black dots forming in the corner of his eyes but now that he was safe he had to look. Had to look at the killer beast that had followed him, ready to kill him.

Brown fur was all he could see, the thing didn't even jump over the fence even though Louis knew it could do it without any difficulty. It was big. He could only see its back. He was running into the forest again, it was smart. It didn't want to be seen by anyone else but Louis. It wasn't even meant that Louis should have seen it, that he was sure of. Louis was to be killed right there.

Louis got lucky. Lucky that he actually survived that. He wasn't even sure himself how he did that.

He fucking survived!

He didn't even notice the thunderous howl there came from deep within the forest.

A maniac like laughter left his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks and Louis' back arched off to the ground. Crying and laughing at the same time, his emotions all over the place. If anyone could see him, even just hear him they'd think that he was a complete nutcase. He felt like that. He felt like he was completely bonkers!

What he had just seen was no way explainable and no one would believe him. They would lock him up, prescript him medicine he didn't need and tie him to a chair.

He started to cough loudly and ragged, clutching into his shirt with a tight fist as if it would help him breathe properly. He rolled over to his side, his body starting to hurt, the numbing feeling finally starting to go away. The pain took over. His legs, hands, face and back was hurting so bad.

Before he could stop himself he puked everything he had in his stomach up, just laying there. Crying beside his sick. Head fuzzy and pounding against his forehead. He wanted to scream for help again but he had used all his energy up. Nothing left to give out of.

 

 

 

_"I found a young beta roaming around the outskirts of the forest close to the town. Never seen before, probably just moved here, he didn't seems to be an exile. He ran away before I got him Alpha, I have no idea-"_

_A low snarl came from the man in front of him making him instantly shut up. Eyes turning into flaming red colour, staring into his own brown ones with such bloodcurdling glare that it would make even the most fearless men cower away cowardly._

_He was sitting at the end of a long table with other betas and alphas surround it, waiting for an reaction from their leader. All paying attention to each and every little tense movement of him he made and ready to obey an order._

_"Was he turned?" the man demanded to know._

_"No. No he was in his human form, he was fast though. Faster than a normal beta should be in their-" again was he interrupted but this time by a loud growl. He was used to this, he really was. But it always came to a surprise how deafening and powerful his Alpha could be._

_"Did you let him see you?"_

_He was a bit afraid the answer truthfully but he knew that the outcome would be a lot worse if the man in front of him found out the truth another way than from directly his mouth. He mumbled a short "yes, Alpha" while looking down at his feet._

_"Of course he did, you're getting slow. That just won't do"_

_"Sorry, Alpha. But he-he was so fast, I really thought I had-"_

_"I didn't ask for useless information, did I? I don't care how fast the beta was, you are always gonna be faster than the threat! Am I understood?" the young man gave a curt nod before the alpha kept on speaking. "Now, you wanna keep on wasting my time or are you actually gonna do something about this?"_

_"Of course, Alpha"_

_“Bring him here”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a bit of a mouthful, eh?
> 
> thank you so much for everyone who's reading this, it means so much to me and I can't even verbally express how much I love you all for it.
> 
> thanks.
> 
> until next time xx


	4. what a peculiar state we're in

_[OneRepublic - Au Revoir](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=ycSUGaWSTgOSBpbGOg3JaQ) _

 

Louis had fainted right there in their backyard in the cold and brutal windy weather. Numb to his core.

Mark had found him 20 minutes later, freezing cold, scratches on his face, hands and arms. His t-shirt was ripped in some places where the sharp branches had caught on to it and shredded it to pieces. Of course his father had imagines the worst thing there could possibly happen to his son when he saw him lying unconscious on the ground.

_Someone had touched my son._

He had tried to call Louis' cellphone endlessly through the night to get a hold of him, of course he hadn't picked up. The phone was somewhere in the forest. Lost and forgotten from the traumatising escape.

So it wasn't actually shocking news to Louis when he'd found himself slowly waking up in a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of weird stuff. His father was sleeping on a small chair bedside the bed. The heart monitor beeping loudly and steady. It was quite annoying and didn't help Louis' headache one bit.

He just wanted some silence for once in his life.

"Dad?" Louis whispered, throat dry. He smacked his chapped and dry lips together trying to get some salvia in his mouth, he could really go for some water right there. "Dad?" He tried to say louder.

With a heaving gasp his dad straighten up on the chair, eyes flickering around the room as he was searching for danger, protecting his already hurt son. His eyes found Louis' and quickly raced over to the bed where his bruised son was lying.

"Jesus, Louis" he took Louis' hands there was covered in bandages in his and held on to it for dear life. "Are you okay? What happened? Do you need a nurse?", question after question left his mouth and before the blue eyed bloke could answer any of them his dad had already pushed the small button so a nurse was rushing in.

"Water?" Louis croaked and not even a second later a cup was in his hands. The nurse checked up on everything Louis was hooked up to, looking through some papers he had in hands afterwards. Writing things down. Louis was curious what there was actually written on those papers about him.

"Good to see you finally awake, Louis. You father has been worried" he said with a gentle smile. "Wouldn't move from the chair and kept on asking when you'll wake up"

Louis nodded as he sipped on the water, he was so tired and felt like he could sleep for a week and then some. But whatever the doctors had given him had made his body stop hurting. It also made him a bit dizzy and feeling a bit fuzzy all. There was no doubt that he was a tiny bit high.

Nothing he hadn't tried before.

Mark sighed. "Louis, you scared the ever living soul out of me. What the hell happened to you?" he asked as he took the now empty cup out of his hands, places on the small bedside table. "I found you knocked out in our backyard looking like someone who had fought with a dog, covered in puke"

_More like a monster._

Images and memories filled Louis mind, clear pictures of the beast that had haunted him down yesterday. Brown fur and a pair of glassy eyes to match, it almost felt like an out-of-body experience looking back at it there. The smell of blood there'd followed it like a shadow. Its big paws pounding against the ground, breaking everything on its way. Hurling itself towards Louis in such a high speed that it was unimaginable.

He'd hoped he had made it all up by himself.

A loud whine tumbled out of Louis' mouth before he could stop himself and keep it inside, he was shaking again. He could feel his father's worried gaze upon him. He couldn't tell them the truth.

No one could know the truth.

"Louis?"

" _Nothing_. Nothing happened. I just- I fell in the forest and ended up falling a lot harder that I thought and... fainted when I got home, I must've hit my head on a rock or something like that. ‘That’s all there happened" it was clear that Louis was lying through his teeth, not even Louis himself would believe what had just left his mouth a second ago but he couldn't tell Mark and the nurse what had happened in that horrifying forest. They would simply not believe him. They'd think that he's absolutely out of his mind. Lock him up in some asylum for the rest of his days.

Mark's muscles tensed as he was in high alert, not believing him one bit but kept quiet, not wanting to stress his son further than he already was. For heaven's sake he was already in a hospital bed he didn't need more stuff to cause him stress than he was already dealing with.

Louis already felt ready to rip his own hair out and he couldn't breathe with the pair of eyes watching his every move.

The nurse coughed awkwardly and broke the thick silence between them there had started to grow.

"Well, I've just went over your papers and the doctors found no internal bleeding or damage. Your course of fainting was dehydration and your body had went into overdrive" the nurse, David Thompson Louis could read on the little name tag, explained to them. Overdrive? What does that even mean?

He was too tired (read: _high_ ) to ask any questions about it, just wanted to get over with it and out of the hospital as fast as possible. Home and sleep. It seemed like it was the only thing he wanted these past days. If only he could.

"There's really no need to keep you here any longer than you want and need to, the bandages need to be changed two times daily for a week, but the rest of the scrapes will just heal themselves over time. If you get symptoms of a concussion you'll have to immediately return to the hospital, such as dizziness and nausea. Your dad will have to wake you up three to four times throughout the night to make sure nothing is wrong. For the bruises and such, there's not much you can do about that. Take some painkillers and they'll do the rest" Louis sure hoped that his father could keep up with whatever word vomit there just left the nurse cause Louis sure as hell couldn't. His mind was in the gutter and he knew his father would demand the truth from him when they left the hospital and got home.

Everything was just peachy!

With a deep sigh Louis closed his eyes, he just wanted to relax for a bit before he had to return to reality, outside. Where the beast still roamed the forest. Where it could attack anyone at any given time and Louis had no way to stop it.

He could hear his father talking with the nurse, a third voice joined the party. Probably the doctor or something who'd have to sign the papers so he could leave. He hadn't even heard the door open, too lost in his own mind and thoughts.

The images of the monster wouldn't go away in his head, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything around him felt surreal, a bit like he was still stuck in a hazy dream like state. As if his mind had made the whole scenario up itself. How Louis wished that that was the case and the thing wasn't actually real and had tried to kill him. It would make so much more sense to Louis if that was the actual truth. But he knew better, he knew that this was just something his mind would make up on its own.

That it _couldn't_ make up by itself.

"Mr Tomlinson" a deep voice spoke. Louis ignored him first he thought he was speaking with his father, no one calls him Mr Tomlinson. He just wanted to sleep. Leave him alone.

"Louis Tomlinson may I have a word with you for a second?"

Louis opened his eyes and there stood a man with a black bomber jacket on, golden brown hair and glassy brown amber eyes staring directly into his own stormy blue ones. Louis slowly pushed himself up from his positions so he was sitting in the big hospital bed, eyes never leaving the strangers. They felt oddly familiar.

"Who are you?" Louis asked. More like demanded to know.

"I'm officer Liam Payne" the young man shook his hand. He got big hands. "I've come here to ask you some questions. I'm from the Wiltshire Police Department, your father called in in the middle of the night. He had found you fainted and bruised up after an hour trying to call you" Liam Payne clarified. The police? Jesus Christ, that was getting a lot bigger than Louis wanted and attended it to be. He didn't need some police officer to get involved in all this, things should just go back to back to what they were and then everything would return back to normal. He wanted to forget, that's all he was asking for. No need to bring the police into this it was enough that he was in the hospital.

"There's no need to ask questions, nothing happened and I'm fine" Louis snapped at the police officer. He could hear his father sigh loudly and almost as if he had abandoned all hope of Louis telling the truth and letting the _poor_ officer help them. Louis hadn't even noticed that the nurse had left the room, he was still staring at the young man in front of him. No way he could be much older than Louis and no way in hell he could actually be a police officer.

"Mr Tomlinson, if it isn't too much trouble, I'll like to talk to Louis alone" Liam Payne asked his father. Mark just nodded as he stood up from the small chair he'd slept in and mumbled _I’ll be right outside_ and walked out of the room. Leaving Louis alone with this stranger. What a great dad he was, huh.

"So Louis-"

"I wanna see your police ID or badge, whatever it's called" Louis demanded from the young man. He wanted proofs. He could be some fraud...

“Alright” he said and without a second thought, Liam pulled a black ID out of his pocket and threw it towards Louis. Quickly Louis looked at it with trembling hands.

_Liam James Payne._

_29 August 1993_

_Wiltshire Police Department - WPD_

There was a picture of him that must have been taken for a couple of years ago. He looked younger, no beard and hair longer than it was now. Brown eyes still the same.

Those eyes.

With a short nod Louis gave him the ID back which Liam gladly took from him.

"What do you want then?" Louis asked.

"Mr To-"

"Do not call me Mr Tomlinson, my name is Louis which I'm sure you already know. Mr. Tomlinson is my dad" Louis interrupted the policeman, Liam mumbled a short _yes of course_. Louis couldn't help himself and inhale deeply, Liam smelled like alpha. All dark, rich and a bit like grass after a heavy downpour in the summer. Louis hadn't been this close to an alpha that wasn't his father or Calvin in years. The scent made his omega preen loudly and Louis had to bite his own tongue to make himself shut up before it came out as a tiny whimper. He pinched his thigh but couldn't feel how hard since the strong medicine still was pumping through his body. The only good thing about the whole situation to be honest.

"Louis" Liam started over again. "We simply want to know how you ended up in your father's and yours backyard, fainted and bruised up. Your father explained that you two had an argument last night which resulted in you storming out of the house around 8:20 pm, if I’m right. We need to fill in the blank spaces between when you left your house and when your father found you knocked out" he said as he pulled out a small notepad from his inner pocket of his jacket ready to write down what ever lie there was to leave Louis' mouth.

Louis fiddled with his hands, nervous and a weird sinking feeling washed over him. He already knew that Liam Payne wouldn't trust him if he told the truth. Louis wanted to believe that it wasn't true either. But what there happened last night could no way be his imagination. That he would run from something that his mind had made up itself. He had bruises all over his body that said the opposite.

"I uhm. I left the house and wandered around for a bit, not really focusing on where I went and where I walked and somehow I ended up in the-in the forest. Couldn't really see where I was going and where I stepped, it was dark as shite outside and I hadn't thought about using the flashlight on my phone. I didn't even think about it actually which resulted in me falling down a hill, scraped up pretty badly as you can see and-" Liam held his hand up, signalling that Louis should stop rambling

Of course he didn't but it.

Louis was screwed.

"What about you tell me the truth now, Louis? It would make everyone’s job easier and your father less worried"

Was policemen meant to be this mean? Not that Louis have met a lot of them but he's pretty sure that they shouldn't have that much attitude and acting so unprofessional. Perhaps it was just the police officers here in Wiltshire that was like that. Everything in Wiltshire sucked.

"I am. I am telling the truth. How the hell are you supposed to know if I don't, who are you to tell I'm not? You weren't there when I was- when I fell" Louis huffed, crossing his arms across his chest with a loud humph. He was pretty sure he saw Liam roll his eyes at him, he was really getting under Louis' skin. He may be handsome but officer Liam Payne's personality was ugly and a royal pain in his arse.

"I can't" Liam confessed. "I wasn't there"

"That's right, you weren't there. So you have no right to accuse me of lying about what happened to _me_ "

"You are absolutely right, Louis. But you and I both know that you aren't telling the truth, and you might forget i do this for a living. I can tell when people are lying me right in my face"

What's up with that man? He was acting like a right cunt, as far as Louis knew he had no say in this, he had to take Louis' answers as they was until there came an investigation which Louis hoped there didn't would and they could actually prove the opposite.

But Louis was fuming, pissed off and ready to go off on this bloody policeman. Ready to let all his frustrations out on this man.

He couldn't help himself when he started to speak, words just left his mouth. Forcing themselves out.

"You want the truth, huh? Want to know that I saw something in the forest that I know I shouldn't have seen? Something straight out of some fucked up brother Grimm fairytale, that it fucking hunted me like a prey and was ready to kill me if it came any closer, it would had killed me if it got to me before I got away. No one will believe me if I told them this, they'll think that I'm absolutely out of my bloody mind and so will you, am I right? It's probably what you're thinking about right now, that what I saw could no way in hell be possible and that beast that followed me home didn't exist. That is what they will say. So why don't you just write down that I fell down that fucking hill and everything will dandy and splendid, nothing bad will happen and I'll forget everything about that forest, Officer Payne" Louis sounded like an absolute nutcase in his own ears but he needed this conversation to end as fast as possible. Needed this Officer Liam Payne to leave him alone. He just wanted to forget about everything that had happened to him, that the beast even existed and go on with his life, act like nothing and as if he'd seen nothing.

"Alright Louis Tomlinson, how about we'll postpone this conversation to another day when you feel a bit better and your mind isn't all over the place, hm? I'll talk to your father about it, for now I'll let the whole "hill" story go, it will be your official statement in the report. For now" and with that he closed the little notepad, turned around and left Louis in the big, white and empty hospital room all by himself. Left Louis to his own thought to consume him.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Louis left the hospital late in the evening with his father. They were quiet the whole ride home. Louis just really wanted to sleep all his problem away and Mark respected that. Understood that his son was tired from the hectic night there had left him bruised.

Mark and Louis almost started another argument in the hospital when his father had returned to the room a couple of minutes after Officer Liam Payne had left, a nurse had followed him in right behind him with a small kit in his hands. Louis had seen enough _Special Victim United_ to know what the nurse had held in her hands. The heart monitor started going off in a alarming rate as Louis had pushed himself up sitting position and kicking his legs like a small kid, all while screaming _I’m not doing a fucking rapekit! I wasn’t fucking molested!_ To put it lightly, the nurse almost flew out of the room as fast as he’d came in.

"You want anything to eat? I know you hate hospital food like any sane human does"

_I don't feel very sane at the moment._

"Do we still have those frozen pizzas?" Louis mumbled as he closed the door behind him, hanged his jacket up and took the very much muddy shoes of. He had to buy new ones, they were covered in mud and dried leaves. Looking like a disaster and he couldn't walk around with them on. He was still wearing the ruined t-shirt, it was ripped right at his ribs and should probably change into something else to look more presentable. Throw it out while he was at it. He was too tired to change into anything appropriate and it wasn't like he was going to leave the house anytime that day. It was only his father and him there. No one to impress.

"Think we still have one with pepperoni on, not sure. Lemme check quickly" Mark said as he walked into the kitchen. Louis walked into the living room, shoulders hunched, dark, almost purple bags under his eyes. Now that the pain medication had went away his hands and back was aching again.  Sadly they wouldn't give him prescription drugs for the pain, said that Advil would have to do the job. Stupid nurse and doctors. Never know how to do their jobs properly.

He dropped down on the couch with a groan, head leaned back on the backrest and his eyes closed. He wasn't really that hungry, a nervous, jittery feeling was eating him up from the inside and completely taking over any hunger he had inside of him. It kind of felt like he had a huge rock in his stomach there wouldn't go away.

Liam Payne had freaked him out. He wasn't sure what he would do with the information Louis had given him, maybe he would use it against him. His father hadn't even told him what they had spoken about outside the room. He really hated that, why couldn't he just tell him? It was about him after all, there was no reason to keep the information from him. He was to found out anyways.

The radio was turned on in the kitchen and Louis could faintly hear some sort of Ed Sheeran song being played. Mark was puttering around, making unnecessary noises, metal hitting hard against metal. He was just putting a frozen pizza in the oven, how much noise can that even make?

"Can you please gimme some painkillers, me head is killing me?" Louis loudly asked, knew that his father would do it now that he was fussing over Louis being a worry wart. It wasn't like Louis was in his deathbed.

Not anymore at least.

He could feel his father nudging his arm making him open his eyes. He was handed to pills and a big glass of water. Since the nurse had said that he'd fainted because of dehydration Mark had forced to make him drink two bottle of water on their way home. Louis had to make him stop or he'd piss in his own pants right there in the car before they even got home.

He took the painkillers and drank the glass of the water so his father wouldn't complain. Louis wouldn't had handled it if Mark would start nagging at him and pressing for answers, he just wanted a quiet night in. No yelling and no screaming. He'd already promised his father that he would tell him the real " _story_ " there had happened in the forest. Like hell that was gonna happen. He had the whole night to come up with something better than the falling-down-a-hill story. He can do this! He is after all the master of lying and pretending everything was okay.

"Louis for heaven sake, go up and change into something else than that shirt. Might as well throw it out while you at it" his father commanded.

"Why? It's not like anyone's gonna see me tonight and I quite like this shirt actually. Maybe I'll put some safety pins in it, make me look all punk and shite" Louis joked, trying to lift up the tense mood there never seemed to go away from yesterday. It was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife.

"Please, just do as I say"

"Fine, Jesus. It's just a shirt"

"Don't get angry with me now boy"

"I said _fine_ " Louis huffed.

Louis pushed himself up from the couch with a painful groan, the pills haven't kicked in yet so his back was still a pain in the ass. It felt like that every breath he took made it hurt more. He felt like an old man for god sake. He was only 19!

He slowly walked up the stair (old man!) and pushed the door open, a cold breeze met him, washing over his body. It made him shudder and his arms was covered in goosebumps, making the hair on his arms raise. The room looked like he left it, he wasn't sure why he expected that he his room would look different when he got back. Like someone would have been in there, trashing the whole place and ripping his things to pieces.

His window was wide open and making the curtains flow with the wind, it looked like two ghosts dancing with each other. He hadn't left his window open when he left yesterday, right? Maybe his dad had went up and opened it to let in some fresh air, so it wouldn't smell too much of teenager, omega and scented candles.

Louis remembered that he hadn't used his scent hiding spray or taken his suppressant that day.

Great.

Fucking splendid. He had walked around the whole day smelling like omega, mud and sweat, and his father hadn't said shit.

He huffed loudly and walked over to the dresser to pull a sweater out. It was a black oversized hoodie that used to be his father's when he was young. The fabric was soft since it has been washed so many times over the years, it was Louis' favourite shirt. He used to wear it all the time when he was younger, at that time it looked a lot more like a dress than a shirt but his mum found it adorable and taken more than a few pictures of him in it prancing around the old flat.

Now it went to his thighs, still a bit too big but more acceptable. At least Louis could wear it outside now without people staring at him with their judging eyes.

He pushed the drawer closed with his hip and turned around. With his hands deep into the pocket of the hoodie he walked over to the door when he caught something out of the corner of his eyes on his bed. Something small and almost unnoticeable.

Louis walked over to his unmade bed, it was a bit of a mess. Just like he had left it yesterday morning.

And right there on the pillow was his very much broken phone, covered in mud and making the white pillowcase brown and wet, soaking it with muddy forest, puddle water. The one he had lost in the forest yesterday.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, so basically i got drugged last night when my friends and i went out clubbing last night (on a wednesday? yes, on a wednesday) and i can honestly say that i've never felt this poorly before. every time I as much as move my head I feel like throwing up, i have bruises on my hands and knees cause i kept on falling over my own bloody feet. and i basically can't remember much of the night so i am so afraid that i've done something so incredibly fucking stupid...
> 
> luckily i've already written this chapter beforehand and i just had to look through it quick so there might be some misspellings and errors along the way but bareover me on this one.
> 
> i tell you this cause i really need a couple of days to get whatever there was in my drink out of my body and have my mind clear up a bit so it's not as muchy and foggy as it is now. but no need to worry i'm alright now.
> 
> just take care of each other and don't take drinks from strangers kids ;) xx


	5. some of them wanna abuse you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i never claimed to know anything about cars so i'm so sorry if someone who actually knows anything about cars read this cause i most definitely do not know what i'm talking about even if i tried to do some research :)

[ _ Emily Browning - Sweet Dream _ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=e-PSYNGaTC2_pvrcGGYm3A)

 

 

_ He was screaming his lungs raw in hope of someone would just hear him begging for mercy and help, running but never seemed to got anywhere. It was as if everything he did was in slow motion, every little movement of his body  was painfully slowed down, however everything around him moved quickly past him like he was in a car on a highway driving 110k/h and became on big blurre of dark green and black colours mashed together, he couldn't keep up with everything going on around. It made him impossible dizzy and nauseous. _

_ He had no idea where he was or what he was running towards or away from, not even sure what there had led up to this situation he got himself caught in. All he knew was he had to get away before it got to him. _

_ Run. _

_ Run. _

_ Run! _

_ It was raining, making his hair stick to his forehead in matted, long strands, his feet slapped wetly against the ground and making the puddles splash up all over his legs so he was covered in muddy brown water, making his jeans heavier and heavier and weighing him down. He could hear his own heartbeat loud and clear in his ears and it felt like it was trying to burst out of his ribcage at any given moment. He was tired, oh so tired. But he couldn't stop. Not now, not ever. _

_ Louis had to keep moving. _

_ The trees around him seemed to be taller than he vaguely remembered them. More haunting and wicked, as they all had eyes there were following his every move. Pointing and laughing at his misery. _

_ Trying to grab him and hold him down. _

_ Branches from the trees scratched his skin open and blood started to beeding to the surface, it seemed like they appeared out of nowhere and tore into his clothing and ripping them apart so his naked skin was exposed to the freezing and biting wind. they just kept coming. _

_ A skin crawling, inhuman howl could be heard deep into the dark forest left from him and made Louis stop breathing just for a second. The lump in his throat grew bigger and bigger, it almost felt like he couldn't breathe _

_ "You can't run from me, little one! Hide all you want but I'll still find you! I always do" someone yelled from behind him, making Louis trying to run quicker but he just fucking couldn't! His legs wouldn't cooperate with him. _

_ With each and every thing left in him he pushed himself to move faster. _

_ Suddenly a small clearing appeared further away from him, brightening everything up around it. As it was daytime where it was and not the petrifying night Louis was stuck in, it had its own rules, defying everything. _

_ There was house at that clearing. _

_ It was his house. His house was there! He was safe in that house, the blue eyes boy could protect himself from the forest and the terrifying voice there kept fucking following him everywhere. _

_ The details of the house slowly came into his vision. The huge floor to ceiling window in his room, the tall, white fence there was around their backyard and the familiar beige colour of the house. It was his home. _

_ With pathetic tears running down he ran and he ran just to get closer to house, a flicker of hope lit up inside of him. He was safe. _

_ Louis was safe. _

_ Something hard and firm hit his back with such a force that Louis fell to the ground face first, sliding across the wet ground. Ripping all of his healing wounds up and start bleeding again, making heart wrenching scream slipped out of him from the pure agonising pain there ran through him as he hit the ground.  It made his ear ring deafening loud and muting every other noise around him. _

_ He got caught. Trapped. There was no possible way that he could escape this. _

_ This was it, he was really gonna die this way. Somewhere, lost in a forest in the middle of the night by the hands of some unknown killer. Louis was never gonna see another summer day ready to become a happy memorie, see the leaves turn into a rusty red colour when autumn started to show its face again. _

_ With the last energy he could muster up he pushed himself up, starting to crawl away, hands clenched around the mossy ground to gather enough strength to go on. He tried to catch his breath after he was knocked to the ground, leaving him breathless and nauseous and gasping for air. He needed to get away, this wasn't his end. _

_ Can’t die like this. _

_ Can’t die like this. _

_ "Oh no, I don't think so" with a swift and hard kick to his side Louis left a screaming mess knocked onto his back with a loud thud as he hit the ground for the second time, breaking the branches underneath him in process, poking and pricking into his back. _

_ He couldn't breathe, coughing and gagging, his whole body was on fire. Trembling like a leaf. The taste of metal in his mouth was not making it better, Louis knew that his lip was ripped open from his head hitting a rock from his fall before. It was a wonder he hadn't fainted yet. _

_ "N-no, no please don't. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have ran. I-I'm sorry, I beg you don't do this!" Louis sobbed, crying and begging for the silhouette not to hurt him, eyes closed. He didn't want to see who there was looming over him. Too scared to face his killer, the devil. _

_ He was sure it was the devil who had caught him. _

_ He was clutching his dirty sweater into a tight, tight fist on his chest, it made him feel safe somehow. As if it would help him to catch his breath and ground him. _

_ "Please don't hurt me, don't hurt me" _

_ "Open your eyes" it commanded. But Louis wouldn't budge, he was petrified of what he was gonna be met with as soon as his eyes would flutter open. "Open your eyes omega!" it screamed in his face, so close to his own so some spit landed on his cheeks buyt Louis didn't care one bit about that. _

_ Alpha voice. It used its alpha voice on him. And Louis had no way he couldn't obey, his inner omega forcing him to do it. _

_ What Louis saw pushed the last scream out of him before he was out cold. _

_ Red eyes. _

He landed on the cold floor with a loud  _ thump _ , the sheet was tangled between his legs like a snake trying to slider its way up towards his throat to choke him. Still gasping for air as he'd ran a marathon. The dream had left him a breathless, sweaty mess.

“Fucking hell”

The floor was cold against heated skin, he was coated in a thick layer of sweat even though he was only wearing an old and ratty shirt there didn't help much with fighting against the cold of his bedroom.

It was all a dream. It felt so real, even his side was hurting from the kick he had gotten from the monster with red eyes in his dream. He was sure as hell there was gonna be a bruise there if he took a peek at it.

"Dream, it was just a dream" he mumbled to himself as he slowly pushed himself up from the floor in a sitting position. "Get it together, Jesus, Louis"

_ More like a nightmare _ .

He took himself to the head with a small groan to make sure he won't make anymore noise than necessary, the young lad hoped that his father hadn't heard him falling out of the bed. It felt like he was five years old all over again, having nightmare that left him petrified and too afraid to go back to bed. Louis couldn't remember the last time he had a nightmare that morbid and scary, let alone just a nightmare.

Since the " _ episode _ " in the forest he hadn't got a restful night of sleep without nightmare plaguing his mind like an infection. They were all different but always the same in some way, all ending with him seeing those gruesome red eyes and they were all taking place in a forest. It was getting frustrating and turning Louis into a cranky pile of sleep deprivation mess of a human being there couldn't function properly without at least three cups of coffee in his system to keep him going.

He just wanted to sleep. That's all he's begging for.

Just one night.

It was Tuesday midnight it this was his third nightmare. The only good thing there'd happened was that Mark cancelled their dinner with Anne-Louise Arkin. Or postponed until Louis got better. His mind was still set on going even though what had happened.

Louis couldn't even scream and complain at his father.

Yeah, he was  _ that _ tired he couldn't even muster up enough energy to have a good ol’ fashioned Tomlinson screaming match with his father.

The blue eyed lad heaved himself up from the floor where he was still sitting with another groan as he threw himself on his bed there creaked in protest from the assault. He knew that sleeping was out of the picture for who knows how long, when he had woken up from the nightmare he couldn't go back and fall into a restful slumber. That was just plain unrealistic.

So he grabbed his laptop from where it was resting on his nightstand and turned it on, a soft noise came from it and it lit up the room with its bright screen and for the first time Louis could actually see his room since he'd woken up.

The rain had yet to stop outside from earlier, its downpour were never ending.

Everything in Wiltshire seemed never ending. It was just how it was Louis figured.

A never ending nightmare.

The last site Louis was on when he had shut in computer popped up, it was his Facebook page.

His friends from back in London had posted pictures from their uni experience and how much fun they were having without him.

That was just exactly what Louis needed.

To see his friends having a great time without him, enjoying themselves. Getting so pissed that they could hardly stand nor see straight. It wasn't like Louis excepted them to be in a constant mood of sadness ‘cause of him leaving, and their lives would stop just because he wasn't in it anymore. But it was nice thought.

And just because he was in a piss poor mood and hadn't had a peaceful day for over week does it not mean that they were having it as bad as him. But again, it was a nice thought.

The earth doesn't spin around him after all, no matter how much his mother used to call him her sunshine.

Stan and Calvin didn't even know what had happened to him, he hadn't even tried to contact them. In their world Louis was the exact same, sane person had left London a two weeks ago.

How he wishes was he was.

A lot of shit has went down, it has only been two week since there big move to Wiltshire. Jesus.

The tired boy didn't even scroll past the pictures and updates statues before closing the site to search for Netflix instead.

Netflix won't ever disappoint him nor leave him behind.

He put on some mind numbing series where he didn't had to focus on the plot to actually know what was going on, something he already has seen more than twice. That was what he needed the most right now, something to shut his mind and thoughts up just for a second, make them slow down instead of running on 100k/h around his head. It made the feeling of a constant headache worsen. He should really drink more water.

As  _ Scrubs _ was playing and JD was fooling around like an absolute idiot Louis put the laptop down beside him so he could lay down, if was lucky he would actually fall asleep and sleep for (hopefully) the rest of the night. His eyes felt heavy and they hurt from the dry state the bright screen left them in but no matter what sleep wouldn't come. It just fucking wouldn't.

He could cry from how exhausted he was. Normally the sound of rain would lull him to sleep but apparently not anymore.

Thank you very much nightmare.

The howling wind outside shook the trees right outside of his window and casting shadows inside of Louis' room, it almost looked like they were dancing around. The moon was high on the sky and painted the forest outside in a dark, grey glow. The blue eyed boy hadn't really left their home since they'd left the hospital. Only to work down in their workshop and even that was still kind of a part of their house.

He hadn't dared to. It felt like someone was keeping an eye on him all the time, watching each and every movement he made, ready to attack if he even made the smallest mistake. It was probably only something Louis imagined but it didn't help the crawling feeling there ran across his skin whenever he was near a window or anything there left him more exposed than he wanted to.

He was going insane. That's the only logical explanation. He was officially going out of his mind. Someone should just lock him up already before it get worse and out of control.

Louis huffed out a deep breath before rolling over to his back, staring up at the ceiling as if it would give him the answers to all his problems in life. 

It didn't.

Life is never that easy for him, was it?

He wasn't used to feel this clueless and alone, he always had someone who would support him or give him at least some sort of explanation and answers, even just a bloody shoulder he could lean on if needed. But not anymore. Since he'd been stuck in nowhereville the uncomfortable feeling of being fucking lonely never left, it was always nagging in the back of his head.

Just like the eyes there never left him alone.

Maybe this was something he should talk about with his new therapist he was seeing this Thursday. Louis should probably make a list about how much of a nutcase he was starting to turn into.

_ I'm seeing monsters everywhere I go, I've never felt this lonely since my mother died and not only that, I'm slowly turning into a paranoid disaster piece cause I feel like I'm being watched all the time. _

He was one massive joke.

A big and thunderous laugh left his mouth before he could hold it back, tears running down at the corner of his eyes and he rolled around holding on to his stomach with it clenching and cramping up from how hard he was laughing about the absurd situation, he was sure his father would wake up from it. Not that he cared much. His mind was slowly eating him up.

Louis couldn't even remember when he’d laughed this hard from anything.

"Bloody hell" he sighed out when he finally stopped laughing, wiping away tears. What a sight he must have been.

The laptop had slid closer to the edge of the bed as Louis'd unnoticed pushed it away from him as he had laughed so hard.

He needed answers.

With a determined look, he pushed himself up in a sitting position and grabbed the laptop again to put on his crossed leg. The big duvet had slid of him in the process.

He paused _Scrubs_ and opened Google, tapped the search bar and began to type.

' _ Are... _ '

What was he even gonna search for? He didn't even know what had ran after him in the forest?!

He just typed ' _ Wiltshire forest _ ' and hoped for the best.

Which weren't much to be quite frank.

The only thing there came up was a bunch of pictures of the forest during summertime and an old article there dated back to a few years ago, about how wonderful and beautiful the forest was in the spring and summertime for picnics and camping trips, going on and on about the perfect spot for families to visit. Not something Louis could use for much.

Imagine how many people who've been killed by that beast when they’d went camping in that forest. Never found again, shredded to pieces and probably eaten by it.

The shudder went through Louis just by the thought of him nearly being its next victim.

' _Wiltshire_ _Myths and folklore_ '.

Nothing useful popped up besides old witchcraft, black magic and white magic which  _ what does that even mean? _

He already felt like giving up, clearly there wasn't anything useful information he could use. Louis groaned out in frustration and bumped his head against the wall as if it would help him thing more clearly and give him the answer to what he should search on. It didn't help much besides making the headache more noticeable.

Great.

This was just fucking great.

' _ Wiltshire beast myths _ '

Please just give him something. A sign, that all he's asking for.

A yawn sneaked past his lips as he clicked on the first website there was showed without reading into it.

" _ Body found at the outskirts of Wiltshire forest- _ " wait what?

Louis slapped his cheek twice to wake himself more up and to get into the right state of mind so he could actually read the article properly without zoning it out.

' _ The body of (David) Hollingworth was found by three men passing the forest Sunday evening, 19 January 2010, a week after his disappearance. One of the men had told a reporter that they'd quickly tried calling for help in hope of the man still breathing. Hollingworth's disappearance happened Sunday night on his way home from work at the neighbour town. The investigation had lead to nowhere since there was no trace of the victim left anywhere. _

_ The Police Officer - Charlen Garrix - there was investigating the case reported saying that Mr. Hollingworth attack was made by something bigger than himself. He based that statement on the fact the body of the dead man dismembered and torn apart. He also stated that dogs could not do this sort of attacks and damage. This statement is not supported by the published literature where dogs are known to attack and kill, in some cases consume and dismember humans like other wild canids do. _

_ Final report has not been published yet (February 2nd, 2010) while genetic analysis is still pending on the species origin of the hair found over his body. _ '

Louis felt like throwing up, a huge lump had formed in his throat and made it difficult to swallow. This could've been him. He could have been the next victim, mauled and probably eaten.

Both Louis and David Hollingworth knew that what there'd attacked them was nowhere near a dog. Only Louis was alive to tell the tale and David was six feet under, probably eaten by bugs if he wasn’t cremated.

He kept on searching. Louis found articles dated all the way back to 1874 of people being killed by the beast of Wiltshire, in that time of age you weren't afraid to call the monster a monster, they were more likely to believe in the myths and legends in that time period. Who knows.

' _ A young alpha found torn apart, Wiltshire _ ', 2002.

' _ The mystery disappearance of Carmen and James Laurents is solved, found in Wiltshire _ ', 1998.

_ 'Woman, age 26 and omega, dismembered had been found three weeks after she went missing in the middle of the night, Wiltshire _ ', 1985.

An the list go on. Louis found it weird that no one had actually investigated the bloody forest for the thing there killed people. Stopped it before anyone else would die.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been searching for information about the Beast but he could hear the birds slowly waking up outside, singing.

However, one thing was sure. No one had left the forest alive, all in a body bag. Dead and very much gone now

All besides Louis. Louis was the only one who had survived a encounter with the monster.

He threw up on the floor with a loud sob.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

"The exhaust pipe and catalyst needs to be change all together, it's as good as gone by now" Louis spoke out loud, rolling out from underneath the car with a small huff. He had some oil on his forehead and his hands were covered in it too. Mark hummed in agreement at the new information as he wrote it down on a small notepad or else he'd forget it. He had to order the new things home and that just wouldn't do if he forgot it. "And it probably need a oil change while we're at it too, it's pretty much one huge mess"

An elder men stood beside his father and took in all the information Louis said, clearly not understanding a word but nodded along as if he did, trusting every word there left the blue eyed boy’s mouth. Mr. Henricson came in earlier with his wife, who had already left early on, and had claimed that something was terrible wrong with his old Hyundai. Well he wasn't wrong.

Louis cleaned his hands on a small cloth there was in his pocket in his black coveralls there was already dirty from all the hard work, and stood up with a small groan from the little board with wheels on. His body was aching horrendously after not sleep the whole night. The bags under his eyes was visible from afar, the purple tints they had looked like fading bruises. He was probably not the most welcoming sight, with his hair greasy and flat against his forehead, pale skin from sleep deprivation and the lack of sun on his skin.

If only the sun would come out from its hiding behind the cloud then one problem would've been fixed.

"There's good news and bad news, which one will you like first Mr. Henricson?" Mark asked as he turned towards the elder man beside him.

"Oh, give me the bad news first" he said with a small smile.

Mark chuckled lightly and laid the small notepad on the worktop behind him. "The car can't be fixed today since we don't have any exhaust pipes left in storage. We'll have to order a box home. On a good note, it'll only take maximum three days so you'll get your lovely car back by Friday, latest early Saturday. My son and I will get it done as fast as possible, I promise you that"

Louis walked over to the hood of the car to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, always double checking everything. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he knew how to fix a car with his eyes closed.

"Ah, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be" the elder man said happily with a small tinkle in his grey eyes. He was a friendly man, came in with a big smile on his lips and holding his wife's hand proudly like she was the best thing in the world there had happened to him. "I'd thought it couldn't be fixed at all and just needed to be trashed immediately on the spot, you see. I'm glad she'll survive this" he joked and pushed his shoulder against Mark's who gave him a small grin.

"Nah, nothing that can't be replaced, she’ll be alright" Louis cut in in the conversation as he closed the hood again. The young lad leaned up against the car with his arms crossed across his chest in a defensive manner. "However if you would had came later than you were now, the catalyst would have exploded the exhaust pipe from its overdrive and decaying, it would have ended up with your car letting out some pretty dangerous and poisonous fumes and then things wouldn't had ended up as pretty"

Mr. Henricson nodded quickly with nervous eyes, the happy twinkle in his eyes complete gone by now when Louis ended his sentence. Mark rolled his eyes at his son and shook his head.

Louis ran a hand through his hair, it was getting pretty long by now and was in a desperate need of a cut as soon as possible. It had started to curl around his ears and reached his neck, it was impossible to work with and even needed to be held back with a hair band when he worked with the cars because his fringe kept on falling into his eyes whenever he would bend over something. Louis can't even remember when he last time got a haircut. It must have been back in June.

The top of his coveralls were tied around of his hips and his black t-shirt was covered in dust from crawling around on the floor and laying under cars. At least it wasn't humid and hot anymore, the rain had yet to let up outside so Louis wasn't sweaty and covered in oil. That was a plus.

His father took the crook of the elder man's elbow in his hand making him look up at him with a confused stare.

"Let's go to my office and talk about the payment, hm?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course, lead the way Mark" and then they started to go to the back of the auto garage where his dad's office were. Louis rolled his eyes at how obvious Mark was, it was clear that he wanted Mr. Henricson away from him, afraid that Louis may start talking about how the car would explode and kill them all with a snap of fingers. Which was very unlikely, Louis may be overdramatic at times but I weren't down right cruel toward strangers. He knew how to behave, thank you very much.

"Well, alright. I'll just start with the car then!" Louis yelled after them.

"You do that!" Mark yelled back without a second of hesitation, always ready for a comeback.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Okay, need to get the catalyst from the storage room before anything else.

After Louis had found the tools he needed to use to remove all the broken parts and a new catalyst to the car he began to work. He rolled back under the car for the second time today with a very gorgeous forehead flashlight. They hadn't taken the risk of driving the car onto the lift in case of damaging more parts so they had to fix everything in the good old fashioned ways.

Alice Cooper was heard over the speakers his father had installed two days ago in every corner of the shop, claiming he worked best with music on. Load of shite that was but Louis couldn't really complain, it was way more fun working while music was playing out loud.

After 10 minutes he finally removed the old catalyst from the car, throwing it out from underneath the car which made a lot of unnecessary noise but it was not like there was anyone else in the garage beside him. His father's office were soundproof to make sure the noise outside wouldn't disturb him while he was speaking with a customer.

"Bye Louis, it was nice to meet you" Mr. Henricson yelled as he left his father's office. "See you this Friday Mark"

"Of course Casper"

Casper? Already on first name basis.

Mark kicked Louis feet there was poking out from underneath the car to get his attention. Louis pushed himself out with a questioning glare and a lifted eyebrow there said ' _ what now? _ ', couldn't he see he was working.

For the third or fourth time that day Mark rolled his eyes at his son's behaviour, choosing not to comment on it. Wise choice.

"I'm gonna go out for a bit, need to buy some groceries since you used all the milk this morning. Three cups of coffee, really Louis?"

_ Come again when you haven't slept for three days. _

Louis didn't voice his thoughts out loud but instead shrugged his shoulder in a dismissive manner. Alice Cooper's  _ Poison _ change to Kansas'  _ Carry on Wayward Son _ . His father always had a passion for classic rock.

"And I need to see if I can find a exhaust pipe or if I really need to order one from home, just to be sure"

"Yeah, whatever. You do you, I'll see you later"

"Lou" Mark sighed.

"Bye dad! Please turn up the music on your way out" without waiting for a answer he kicked himself under the car again to start working on the car.

When the music was turned up so loud up that Louis couldn't hear his own thought was the sign that Mark had left. Now Louis was all by himself, he didn't need to keep the appearance of being ready-for-the-day and have a fake smile plastered to his lips whenever a customer came into the shop. There was closing in about half an hour anyway so it was very unlikely that someone would come in.

The crooning sound of a guitar solo filled out the silence and made Louis wiggle his feet to the rhythm of it while he tried removing the rusty exhaust pipe from underneath the car. Which shouldn't take this long but unfortunately it was a right mess and the rust made it a lot more difficult than it should be.

The song reminded him of home, of his mother and father dancing around in the living room with a little 6 year old Louis between them. When times weren't so difficult and all they needed was each other to be happy and content. They would push the couch and table to the side to make enough space for them to jump around and swing their arms while playing on their imaginative guitars.

Louis shook his head at the memory, the music did the exact opposite of what he wanted it to. He needed to forget and distracted from his own thought. Not go on a trip down memory lane.

Luckily Kansas changed to Metallica's  _ One _ which was one loud song there would cancel everything out around him.

" _ Nothing is real but pain now! _ " Louis sang along as he finally removed the pipe, it clanging loudly against the floor beside Louis' head. " _ Hold my breath as I wish for death! _ "

Louis mimed he was playing guitar underneath the car which must have been a weird sight when you could only see his feet. But no one was here and he could do what he wanted.

" _ Darkness imprisoning me, all that I see-! _ "

" _ Louis! _ " A loud voice yelled his name, made the younger lad slam his head up on the car to see who it was.

"Fucking shit, buggering fuck!" he yelled out loud as he took himself to the head where he was sure there was forming a bruise already. He quickly rolled out from underneath the car, anger coursing through him, mostly because of the pain. He never handled pain well and he never claimed he did. "What do you  _ bloody _ want from me?!" he screamed over the music to be sure he was heard.

And there stood no one else than Officer Liam Payne with a smirk on his annoying face and his arms crossed as he was staring down on his misbehaving child. Fucking prick.

What did this dickhead want from him now?

Louis didn't even wait for a answer before he stood up from the floor and walked over to the stereo system and paused the music, turning around without a second of hesitation to glare at the policeman with a dark and stormy gaze that he hoped would actually kill the stranger. Slowly and very painful.

"Wouldn't had pegged you as a Metallica fan but aren't you full of surprises, Tomlinson" he joked as if hadn't just scarred Louis for life. He had a bruise as evidence.

"What do you want, Payne?"

"Oh just wanted to come by and see how you were holding up since you've left the hospital. As I said, I'll come by to get your official statement when you were bit more... yourself" Liam informed him and walked around the garage with a curious glint in his brown eyes. Taking in every little detail as if he looked for something there was out of place. "And as far as I can see you're quite alright now, well beside you not sleeping very well"

What?

"I've been sleeping just fine" Louis assured and walked over to the car he was trying to repair before officer Payne came and distracted him from his work. "And if you're not here to get your car looked at or buy any spare part to your car then please leave, I have work to get back to as you probably can see"

Liam clicked his tongue at him and shook his head as he walked towards Louis like an elegant lion walking on Africa's Savannah. Slow and steady with all the time in the world, powerful with his broad shoulders almost swaying as he walked closer and closer. Stalking its prey. It was hypnotising to watch.

"I though we've already established that what you said in your dazed state of mind weren't  you speaking the truth" he kindly reminded him as if he couldn't remember what had went down in the hospital, he was sure that if needed to Liam would remind him what exactly he’d said word for word. "So how about you start talking now so we can get this over with, hm?"

"Not without a lawyer, I have my rights. Do you even have permission to be here in the first place, hm?” Louis spat back with a lifted eyebrow and his head slightly tilted to the side.

Louis does not have a lawyer nor can he actually afford one but what Liam doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Where's your father?" the young officer suddenly said changing the topic entirely, confusing Louis. 

Louis shrugged and mumbled  _ I don’t know _ , acted like he didn't know. He just wanted the officer to leave him alone and never be reminded of the unfortunate events that happened, forget and get over it already but it seemed like he was the only one who wanted that, everything and everyone wanted to remind him what’d happened. They just wouldn't let him be.

"And by the way Louis, we all know that you don't have a lawyer. But if that's gonna make you talk then I'll gladly arrange a meeting with one for you"

Fuck him.

A sharp growl left Louis' lips before he could stop himself. An animalistic instinct fired up inside of him as he felt threatened by the man in front of him in his own home

"Get the hell out" the blue eyed lad snarled. " _ Get out! _ "

"Calm down Louis, we wouldn't want me to tase you" Liam's hand slid down to his hip where the black taser gun were resting. Louis had no doubt that Liam would use it on him if he was forced to but unsettling feeling was in the pit of his stomach and something tried to push forward in his mind. Something wanted to get out, no matter if Louis would let it come out or it had to force it way out.

"Leave!" he screamed.

Louis wouldn't had thought Liam would give up this easily however when he stepped back with a curt nod it calmed Louis down instantly, he had won this one.

His eyes never left Liam's body as he moved towards the entry of the garage. Following every step he took.

"Don't think this is over Louis Tomlinson. I’ll make you confess in the end”

"Piss of won't ya?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm in such a great mood since I came home from my harry styles concert tonight. it was unbelievable seeing him live again, last time I saw him was back in 2014 or so. His an enigma on stage and you can't keep your eyes of him, like he has a spell on you. i was so close to him when he walked over to the little platform and i'm not even gonna deny it, i was a absolutely sobbing and teary mess when he sang if i could fly. crying all over the place and probably looking disgusting as hell. but it will always be an unforgettable night to me.
> 
> and thank for all the kind and supportive words from you guys they meant the world to me, i am already feeling much better and can't thank you enough for it.
> 
> the chapter isn't that exciting in itself but filler chapters are needed for the plot for develop but i hope you enjoy reading it anyways.
> 
> until the next time xx


	6. i'm losing control by the hour

_[Genesis - Land Of Confusion](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=5trqjK6XSLe1PXgVn6AddA) _

 

 

October came with its unwelcoming, cold biting wind, shortening days and turned the mild summer breeze into a crisp unforgiving autumn weather filled with rainy days and grey clouds there oddly resembled rocks. The trees shedding their orange coats of leaves looking as if Wiltshire was taking straight out of a renaissance painting there should be hung in a museum to be on display for everyone to see.

And with the trees stripped of their leaves also meant that Louis could see further into the forest than he wanted to, could see where he had met the beast.

His nightmares hadn't stopped but he had them less and less often which was only a good sign, he was slowly getting over it and that was all he could ask for.

Forget the ' _ accident _ ' and move on from it without looking back (He wasn't really over it but he has led himself to believe if he told himself it enough he would finally start to think so too) 

But he hadn't stopped trying to find answers, researching and googling in a hope of that he somehow could find a reasoning explanation of what had happened. It felt like it was the only thing he could do, he needed to get to get justice and peace for the innocent soul who was at the wrong place at the from timing. Louis needed to get answers so they could all rest in peace, or that what he told himself at least.

He was stuck, it was like Wiltshire didn't want people to find out what was going on there. Hiding every evidence of what'd happened, dusting it under the rug as if nothing had happened to those people.

However, October also brought a new invitation from Anne-Louise Arkins for them to come over for dinner, and his father had gladly accepted it again without a second of hesitation in his mind. And Louis was very much forced to go even though what happened the last time his father gave him the joyous news of them going over there.

He'd told Louis that they were going over to their house while they were in the garage, this time Louis just nodded and accepted that it was actually going to happen, he was going to that horrendous dinner party whether he liked it or not. It was clear that his father had already made up his mind that they we're going no matter what Louis had to say about the matter.

His father had hired some new guy to work with them in the workshop, Niall was what he was called, a young beta with absolutely no experience and knowledge about cars or how to fix one. It was a wonder his father had hired him. He must had lied to Mark, that the only logical explanation Louis could think of. No chance the Mark would actually hire some absolute moron, right?

Maybe it was because Louis had no friends here and knew no one, and Mark was trying to force a friend on him and meet new people.

It was very much a possibility.

Never mind that and if you looked aside from it, Niall was a okay lad. Curious like a cat and asked way to many personal question that didn't concern him for Louis likening, but he was a right laugh when he didn't. Always blabbering about a new ' _ bird _ ' he was interested in and how he was gonna make her fall in love with him in no time. He always ended up failing miserably to Louis' joy and amusement.

So on a Wednesday afternoon Mark closed the garage a bit earlier than what they normally did, his reason was so Louis and himself could get ready for the dinner and not look like two dirty slobs there was covered in oil and grease. Louis would have been fine with showing up in his coveralls, he had no interest in actually impressing the old witch filled with Botox and her daughter. They can take him as he was.

" _ Louis! _ " Niall yelled from the other side of the garage even though there was no reason to scream at him since Louis could hear him just  _ fine _ . "Where does the-"

"In the storage room!" Louis answered for the fourth time today, mentally rolling his eyes at the lad who was slowly getting on his nerves with all his pestering questions. If Niall keeps on asking questions after questions about things that he should've known by now Louis will absolutely kill him with no remorse. And he'll make sure that it'll be a very painful and very slow death.

"Thanks mate!" Niall said with a big grin as he was obvious to Louis hard stare there kept following him, picking the box up and taking it to the huge room in the back where every spare parts was. Niall can't be this impossible dense, he must've felt the anger and annoyance oozing out from Louis. Hell, even the scent blocking spray Louis uses couldn't hide the scent of anger coming from him. "You're the best".

The young lad had promised his father that he would be on his best behaviour tonight but Niall was making it pretty difficult for him to keep his promises.

Mark was shutting the huge door there'd let the cars roll in, with a loud and thunderous slam, making his presence known to the two young men. Locking it up to make sure no one could get in or out.

"That's it for today boys" he said and walked out to the back with Niall and Louis following him right hot in his heels. There was an door in his office there lead to the backyard and it was mainly used by Niall when they closed up for the day. "I'll see you tomorrow Niall, hope you have a great rest of your day" he clapped Niall on the back, looking like a proud father with his happy twinkle in his own blue eyes which made Louis roll his eyes at the display of them.

No, he wasn't jealous.

"And you too Mr. Tommo. Bye Louis!" Niall waved as he walked out the door, always with a huge smile painted on his lips and a little skip in his step. Mark closed the door and made sure the alarm was on.

They had to be over at Anne-Louise Arkins' house around 7 pm which meant Louis had around two hours to get ready in. Plenty of time.

And as ready he meant throwing on a remotely clean shirt he’d pick up from his floor and a pair of jeans that didn't smell too horrible and preferably where he haven't left his omega scent all over it. He should really do his laundry soon or he'd end up smelling like a locker room permanently.

They walked up the stairs there lead to their flat in silence, not a word was exchange between the two of them. Not that there was much to be said. Mark knew that Louis didn't want to go and made him do it anyway, Louis was not in the best mood (he never seemed to be the last couple of weeks, as if he had a dark cloud looming over his head) and they both rather not have the whole situation spiral out of control and up in another screaming match before they'd even left the house for the night.

They could read each other's body language, tense shoulder and hands there kept clenching and unclenching every second or so never was a good sign for either of them.

The two Tomlinsons had yet to speak about how Louis ended up in the hospital, Mark apparently agreed on Louis' whole idea of "forget and get over it" part of thinking. It didn't help on the underlying tension between them though. It seemed to never really go away no matter if they moved to Wiltshire that’d been his father's plan to begin with. What a waste of time that was.

At least the garage seemed to do better there than it did in London with more customers.

"You wanna take a shower first?" Mark asked as they entered the flat, looking back at Louis with an unsure smile.

Louis shrugged, taking off his beat up vans and mumbled a small ' _ sure _ ', and walked right past his father without a second look. His body was aching from the all the work they had done today, Niall wasn't much of a help and only seemed to be " _ working _ " whenever Mark was nearby or glancing their way. What was Niall even doing there if he didn't know how to work with cars at all? Louis just couldn't figure it out.

But it basically meant that Louis had to do all the work by himself, which wasn't something new but since Niall actually worked there (and got paid for it!) it would had been nice with some bloody help in any shape or form.

With a soft groan he slid the coveralls off his shoulders and down his legs so he was only standing in a grey t-shirt and black boxer briefs, studying himself in the huge mirror there was hanging in front of him. His legs was littered with fading bruises finally going away with its slow process.

He had a scare over his right eyebrow from a low hanging branch there had made a too deep of a wound. It would probably be there for the rest of his life since Louis hadn't really taken care of it.

His petite frame was looking back at him, hallow blue eyes showing nothing but exhaustion. Shoulders too slender with his collarbone almost sticking sickly out like a sore thumb, waist too slim and hips way too wide for his likening. And omegas body was build to carry babies and do as little hard work as possible since they couldn't "take it". 

He looked awkward in his own body.

With a eye roll, Louis turned on the shower and took off the rest of his clothes, a shower was exactly what he needed in that moment.

The hot stream from the shower head did his back good as a small satisfied moan left his lips before he could hinder it. His head hung down between his shoulders with his eyes closed, his hand resting on the cold, tiles in front of him as he just stood there for a moment, enjoying the water pressure before he actually had to clean himself up and get out of the shower so he wouldn't use up all the warm water.

The small bathroom fogged up as he washed his hair with a unscented shampoo and bodywash, Louis was never a big fan of scented soap as it seemed to mess up with the scent blockers he took and made them not work as well as they should've to begin with.

Louis ran a hand through his hair there now almost reached down to his shoulders when it was wet. He must've looked like a homeless guy by now.

He turned the shower off and pulled a black towel out of the cabinets under the sink before a knock on the door startled him and almost made him drop the towel out of fright. Jesus.

" _ Hurry up, I'll like some of the hot water too. And I really have to take piss _ " his father said behind the door and knocked twice to make sure Louis heard him. Which he did loud and clear.

"Will you calm down, I'm done already!" Louis yelled back and tightened the towel around his waist. He threw the his dirty clothes in the laundry basket, missing it a bit since it was overflowing with dirty coveralls and jeans.

With a over dramatic sigh Louis unlocked the door, Mark was standing there with his fist raised ready to knock again. With a small smile he walked past Louis shoulders and gave him a small push out of the bathroom, with a small ' _ thanks _ ' thrown over his shoulder.

"Sure" Louis got to say before the door was closed right in his face.

Lovely.

The floor creaked under his feet as he walked over to the stairs there'd lead up to his room, the old house really needed to get changed its floorboards. There was still dents and scratches the old owners had made, at least Mark had the walls painted so they'd looked presentable when they'd moved in. God knows what state the house was in before they’d  moved in.

A cool breeze hit his naked and damp skin as he pushed the door open, the open window letting in the fresh air and making the floor unbelievable cold underneath his feet as he walked further into the bedroom. The white curtains blowing in the wind swaying back and forth.

It felt like every time Louis left his room to go down to the garage to work, the window would be wide open whenever he came back, he really had to tell Mark he needs to stop opening his window and letting the harsh winter wind in. Everyone knows that Louis does not deal well with being cold and that was certainly not helping the case.

With a light sigh he closed the window and the curtains instantly stopped dancing like a pair of ghosts.

Alright.

He might as well get ready and get over with the dinner already.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

"Did you actually buy her a wine bottle? She probably owns a wine cellar or something equally as rich sounding like that"

"You have to bring a gift to the host-"

"I know, but wine? Really? You should've bought her an houseplant or I don’t know, anything but a bottle of wine”

Mark rolled his eyes at his son - again - as they walked down the dark street illuminated by lampposts on the street, Anne-Louise Arkins lived a bit further down the street so it would just be plain stupid to take the car. Even though Louis wished a bit they did, it was a really cold night and the thin jacket he was wearing wasn't doing him any justice.

Omegas didn't really have the same " _ body heat system _ " as alphas and betas, they'll easily get cold. That's why omegas needs '' _ alphas to keep them safe and warm in the brutal winters so they won't die of frost bites _ ".

Louis would rather die from frost bites and lay in 7 inches of snow, while freezing each and every limb of his body off than letting an alpha keep him warm from the winters.

He could handle himself well enough. He just needs to learn how to dress properly.

"Yes, wine, now shush it you and act nice" his father said as they neared the house there looked exactly like theirs just with a extra floor and a bigger backyard as far as Louis could see from here.

Actually it didn't really looked like their house. It looked like a traditional family home with ( _ dying _ ) flowers in their front yard.

"Yeah, yeah. I promise I'll act prober and won't lash out. Scouts honour" Louis assured him with a small smile as they walked up the small pathway to the house.

"You've never been a scout, do you even know what scout honor means?"

"Geeze, let me live dad"

Mark let out a light chuckle as he knocked on the pale brown door, not even a second later it swung open and there stood a bubbly and very much smiling Anne-Louise Arkins with a pink flowery apron on, almost as if she knew that they'll already be there. She probably had lured out of her window to see when they’d be there.

Her hair put up in a perfect bun there reminded Louis of them ballerinas wore when performing, not a strand of hair out of place as she'd slicked it back with gel and a whole can of hairspray. At least it didn't look greasy nor sticky.

"Hi and welcome to my humble abode, I'm so thrilled you could come" she pulled Mark in by his wrist and Louis just simply followed and closed the door lightly behind him, made sure it didn't make to much noise.

"I brought a little gift for you" Mark gave her the wine bottle which had a little blue bow ties around its neck.

Anne-Louise gasped all over dramatic and over excited like a small child receiving a christmas present, softly cradling the bottle as if it would break just by the lightest touch, examining the present with a twinkle in her eyes and a huge smile on her red lips.

Calm down lady, it's just a wine from the grocery store, not a million pound check.

"You didn't have to, darlin"

"Of course I had to, and no worries Anne. Take it as a " _ I'm sorry we couldn't come the last time _ " gift if you want to" Mark lightly joked with a shrug

"Yeah, I was absolutely bumped out when you had to cancel the last dinner night"

Mark scratched his neck awkwardly and looked back at his son who just looked smug about the situation.

He asked for it himself and Louis wasn't gonna save him, not even one bit. Let him suffer this alone while Louis would sit back and enjoy the show.

"Hm, yeah sorry about that. Something came up and we had to take care of it first before we-" Mark was interrupted by Anne's flirty giggle as she shook her head at him to make him stop talking. "I guess it doesn't matter anyways, we're here now, aren't we?"

"You most certainly are and that is what matters here love, please take your shoes and jackets off. Dinner's almost ready" she winked and walked back into the kitchen, hips swaying in a alluring way looking back as she had to make sure his father was watching.

He wasn't.

And she didn't even greet him, not that it was shocking news for Louis but it would have been nice just to get a small " _ hello, how are you doing? _ " from her. But after all, Louis wasn't the one she sought after.

Louis hung his jacket on a brown coat stander where two big and white fur coats were hanging.

Oh wow, rich people.

"She didn't even say hi to me" Louis whispered to his dad as he took Mark's jacket to hang it beside his own. Well, it wasn't really whispering, he just didn't speak as loudly as he normally would in a conversation however he didn't really care much if Anne-Louise heard him.

"Louis" Mark hissed, looking around them to see if Anne had heard a word. "Could you be any louder, Jesus"

"I could if you want me to"

"Don't you dare"

The blue eyed lad shrugged and walked past his father to get a good look at his surroundings of Miss Arkins home; to see if there was any hiding secrets.

Or a bag of coke. He still hasn't let go of the thought of her doing drugs.

On his right was the living room, a huge open space with two beautiful white leather couches and a huge television, the wall was painted in a soft blue colour. There wasn't much of decorations or pictures on the wall. Everything was in place and not a thing was standing out, not even a small bowl her daughter could've made in kindergarten that she would've kept just for the memories.

Minimalistic and clean.

Beside the blue wall in the in the living room everything was white and modern, Louis already felt out of place in his dark green hoodie and black skinnies with a rip on his knee. He wasn't wearing many colours but in this house he felt like a neon sign, standing bright and outstanding and most of all, attention grabbing in the hall.

"Alright let's get this over with" he mumbled under his breath so one one could hear him.

Together the two Tomlinsons walked into the huge and sleek kitchen where Anne-Louise was standing with her back to them. Shiny, white marble counters and floor, lightening up the room and made it seemed like they were rarely walked on or used at all. Just like the rest of the house was, it was designed modern and open.

It was sure as the night a change for what Louis was used to in their home, with their old and mismatching kitchen which was in fact rarely used by them and Louis had no doubt that neither of them will magically want to learn how to cook a proper meal any time soon.

By the white kitchen island was sitting a young girl,  _ woman _ , looking down at her phone with such a disinterested, a little frown on her red painted lips and her perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed so a small wrinkle was starting to take place between them. It looked like she rather be somewhere else than sitting in that kitchen, oh how Louis could relate.

If it wasn't for his therapist telling him that it might actually be good for him to go to this dinner he wouldn't have done it.

_ It isn't dangerous to meet new people, Louis. You might actually like Karen _ , dr. Tewers had said to him all grown up-voiced like.

It's not like Louis hated getting to know new people, make friends and everything in between that. It's just that, he rather  _ not _ . The thought of actually going out of the way to make some sort of impression on these people and act like he cares what they had to say already made him tired and restless.

He had Stan and Calvin.

Or  _ had _ .

He hadn't spoken with them for a while and it's difficult to keep the contact with someone who's on the other side of England. They were living life to the fullest while Louis was here, forcing to have dinner with strangers he didn't particular liked that much.

Mark awkwardly coughed to get their attention, the girl by the table neck's snapped up to get a good look at them with her wide and brown eyes. Her auburn hair put back in a high and very tight ponytail. Her eyes met Louis' for a second too long than Louis'd like but he wasn't one to give up, so he held the weird eye contact with her until she looked back down at her phone. Her long nails tapping away in the screen and the noise echoed in Louis' head loudly.

"Oh, please sit down, sit down. The food will be here shortly" Anne-Louise motioned for them to take a seat on the black and fancy barstools. He hadn't even noticed the table was already set. She must'd done this hours before they came over, cleaned the house from top to bottom, most likely hired some maid to do it for her. Louis was almost kind of afraid to touch anything in a fear of making it dirty.

"Thank you Anne, just say if you need any help" Mark assured. The polished woman huffed and waved her hand dismissive towards them.

"Don't you worry your head about that, I have everything under control. Just sit down and relax" she walked over to them and pushed them towards the kitchen island. Mark pulled his stool out right away but Louis just kind of awkwardly stood there, not sure what to do with himself. His eyes following the lady fussing around the huge kitchen space.

Just as Anne-Louise walked past her daughter she bumped her hip into her side, faintly hissing something under her breath to make sure that only her daughter would had heard it. And immediately the young woman sat up straight and shoved her hand towards them for Mark to shake it.

Strange.

"Hello Mr. Tomlinson. 'M Karen, Anne's daughter. It's such a pleasure to finally met you" she said in a stiff voice as she shook his father's hand. Like she’s practiced the whole day on the single line.

"It's nice to meet you too Karen. But just call me Mark, Mr. Tomlinson makes me feel older than what I want to admit I am" Mark tried to joke, a high and fucking nasal whale-like laughter came from Anne-Louise as it was the most hilarious thing she'd ever heard in her entire life.

Gosh, she's trying way too hard that it almost become uncomfortable for them all. Cringe worthy it was.

The hand there tried to push itself into Louis' personally space pulled him out of his mindset. Her eyes was staring directly into his and Louis could already see right through her as she was an open book laying on the table, ready to be read.

She wanted to be anywhere else than here, just like Louis.

With a little smirk on his lips and a lifted eyebrow as he just had figured out the biggest secret of our nation, he took her hand into his and shook it once and firm.

"Louis"

"Nice to meet you Louis"

"You too Karen"

For the second time that night they held the discomforting eye contact, it felt like they spoke with their gaze. Her brown eyes held so many words there couldn't be spoken out loud in the open room, afraid to get told off by her own mum.

Louis couldn't help but notice that she looked the exact opposite of what her mother was. Karen's hair was a dark brown colour and had a set of eyes to match meanwhile Anne-Louise was all blonde and blue eyed.

A bowl of salad was set on the table with a thud, making the two young people finally look away.

"I've made Lasagna with a little something I like to call a summer salad" Anne-Louise announced and placed a huge dish out that could feed a whole village. "Be careful, I've just taken it out of the oven so it might be a bit on the hot side, I hope you'll like it" she smiled wide and blinding towards Mark and Louis as she untied the apron and threw it over her shoulder without a care in the world where it would land.

The wine bottle Mark had brought was on the table ready to be drank, to say it in the mildest way... dinner was absolutely horrendously awkward and tense which made Louis cringe.

Mark and Anne-Louise was basically the only two talking the whole time, not that she didn't try to get her daughter involved into the conversation times after times but Karen wasn't having it. Giving court and short answers that quickly shut the conversation down, making the situation impossibly even more awkward than it had to be.

Well done Karen. Louis most give her that, she knows how to act like the most disinterested and careless person in the whole room. Louis would had thought he would go home with that price but here they were, Karen surprising him every second there goes.

It was all  _ 'what's like to live in London, have you always wanted to work with cars, you have such a handsome smile _ ' from Anne-Louise as she ran her thin fingers up and down Mark's shoulders.

Disgusting that was.

Karen and Louis had just been awkwardly staring at each other the whole dinner with a tense gaze as if they were trying to figure out they both were here. Everything was just  _ weird  _ about this household and Louis felt like he was sticking out like a sore thumb with his cheap clothing and messy lifestyle.

"So Louis, which university are you attending?" Anne asked trying to engage him into the chat. Her daughter was a student at some high prestige uni Louis couldn't care less about.

"I'm not. I'm a stay at home son, taking care of Mark dearest here" he answered cheekily with he mouth full of the delicious lasagna. Anne sure knew how to cook.

The answer left her gasping in surprise.

Which, why?

It shouldn't concern her at all if he attending a college or getting his uni degree, it doesn't affect her day in any possible way.

A light chuckle came from Karen who tried to hide it behind her hand. See, there was one who could appreciate his jokes.

"Is that so, and why if I may ask?"

Hadn't anybody told her that curiosity killed the cat?

"Simply cause we couldn't afford it in that time and I have no problem with working in the garage with my dad. It isn't something that affects my everyday life that I'm not getting a degree when I already know what I want to do, and I'm actually doing it at the moment so I couldn't ask for more, could I? I’m working my dream job and as soon as Mark gets too old to even bend over to pick anything up I’ll take over the business. A degree isn’t needed for that"

It was clear Anne-Louise had no answer for Louis' little ' _ comeback _ ', left flabbergasted and looking at Mark for help. Karen's face was slowly turning into a light pink colour as she tried to keep her laughter in. She was probably not used to people talking back at her mum like he did.

Mark was the quite opposite, his cheek was flaming red from embarrassment and perhaps a bit from anger.

" _ Louis _ " he hissed and kicked his leg.

"What?"

"Say sorry" Mark demanded from him.

Louis does not think so, he had nothing to say sorry for. The young lad was just spilling the truth just like he would to any other person, Anne-Louise wasn't special just because she could a afford an fur coat.

He shrugged softly with a small smile and took another bite, who knew when the next time he'd get to eat " _ real _ " food again.

"I-I... Alright, I guess" was all Anne-Louise had to say and it broke the dam. Karen spat out food as a booming and shocking laugh broke free from her. She was full in gasping for air as she slapped the table, she reminded Louis awfully a lot of a seal.

However it was the first and realest reaction he had gotten the whole night, everything they'd spoken of was so uptight and just so fake. Even Mark acted like a right tool.

Louis couldn't stop himself as he let out a little giggle from her reaction.

" _ Karen _ "

" _ Louis! _ "

It didn't stop them. Karen pushed herself away from the table and stood up while still laughing. Anne-Louise was fuming silently as she saw her daughter leaving the table.

"Where do you think you're going young lady?" She asked with her hand on her hip and a deathly glare in her eyes that read nothing but anger and embarrassment. This wasn't how she had imagine the night turned out to be and Louis couldn't be more delighted by it, this was just splendid.

"Going out, it's not like you're in need of my company here" as she was on her way to storm out of the kitchen she turned around, cheeks still having a light tint of pink from her booming laughter less than a second ago and a cheeky smile on her lips followed by a light glint in her brown eyes. Her eyes found Louis', on of her eyebrow lifted in a questioning manner. "Are you coming?" she asked.

Louis nodded without hesitation and stood up from the barstool and made a screeching noise across the expensive marble floor.

" _ God _ , yes" he downed what was left in the wine glass and hurried walked over to the waiting Karen. "See ya dad"

They could hear Anne-Louise talking loudly about being childish and having absolutely no manners,  _ this isn't how you treat your parents  _ she almost screamed.

"I didn't raise you like this!" Anne yelled after them but Karen slammed the door behind them as they left the house in a fit of laughter. It echoed in the quiet neighbourhood, clutching their stomachs while they walked down the street, and the brim of almost running. Louis couldn't actually believe that this was Miss Arkins daughter, someone who's a rebellion and hated forced dinner parties.

What he couldn't get his mind around was that he was quite enjoying himself.

"What the hell was that?" He questioned breathless, a surprised facial expressions painted on his face.

"You know just as well as me that this dinner wasn't meant for us two to bond and be best pals. They didn't need us to be there" she stated with a small shake of her head. "So we might as well leave while we could, I rather not spend my Wednesday on watching my mum flirt with some man"

Very true. Louis couldn't really understand why they had to be there either, perhaps so it didn't seem too much like a date night for them, it would magically become more acceptable. 

They were simply just a coverup.

"I can't possibly thank you enough for getting me out of there"

"Oh, shush it now. Don't get all sentimental on me now Louis" Karen laughed

"Shut up, I would never" he pushed her shoulder with his but she didn't move much. He clutched his jacket closer to himself as the walked down the dark street, his breath coming out in small foggy clouds. The night was brutally cold and Louis couldn't feel the tips of his fingers, and the wind tousled his hair. Karen's baby pink fur coat danced in the wind, it looked like ostrich feathers.

"Hey, I know this is bit forward but you wanna go to the park and get high? I have a spliff in my jacket and you seem like a decent guy so far"

_ Who are you?! _

"Hell yeah, lemme just get back to mine so I can grab a warmer jacket before I freeze to death" Louis said and walked over to his home, keys already in his hands.

This Karen character is just filled with surprises tonight.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

"So Regent's university, huh. That aren't a cheap place to get your education" Louis mumbled and inhaled the thick smoke, the toxic chemicals filling up his lungs. He held it in before exhaling it with a deep sigh. They were laying on a spider web swing, shared the joint between them and looking up at the starry night sky. A pleasant buzz was running around under his skin, it's been a long time since Louis had felt this comfortable in someone else's present. "And it's in London so there isn't much more you can ask for, is there. You're at least not stuck in this shit hole anymore"

"It isn't me who is paying for it, and yeah, it's a pretty nice place with some sick parties every now and then. The people there are proper rich kids who can actually afford throwing a massive party, great snow too if you get what I mean" Karen informed with a small chuckle, she took the spliff out of Louis' hands and breathed in the smoke.

Karen was, what Louis would like to say, a pleasant surprise. She was back in Wiltshire for a couple of days since her lectures had been cancelled due to a flu going around the university between the teachers, her mother had begged and pleaded for her to come down and join them at the dinner party. Originally she wasn't even gonna be there but Karen felt bad for not visiting enough so she came. And just like Louis, she wish she hadn't.

But so far the night had turned out to be okay.

"Yeah, your mum must be filthy rich"

"Oh no, she isn't. My dad though, big owner of a big firm around the world. He just gives my mum enough money to keep her quiet so she won't complain. She doesn't even work"

And wasn't the new information to Louis.

He sat up with a shocked stare, high as a kite since it had been a little over a month since he had smoked last time.

"Shut up, you're taking the piss! She doesn't even work?!" Louis violently waved around with his arms which made the swing move jerkingly.

"Nah, she's just a trophy wife. Or, she used to be" she joked and poked Louis' leg so she could hand him the rolled up weed. "Now she's just a suburban mum stuck here trying to lure in men left and right without any luck"

"Yeah tell me about it, she got it bad for my dad, Karen. She came over with a-"

"Pecan pie, yeah. It's her trick, make them fall in love with her through their stomach" they laughed loudly and Louis laid down beside her again, the fur coat was soft against his cheek. 

Like a hug from a ostrich.

Imagine hugging a ostrich, it would most likely poke Louis' eyes out with its beak.

It would be worth it though.

"What the hell are you laughing at you tosser?"

"Ostriches will poke your eyes out" Louis informed her without thinking about what left his mouth.

Gosh, he was high. That was some good shit there was in that joint. It felt like his lips was tingling and a bright and burning light was trying to burst through his body. He felt like the sun or a cloud, floating around endlessly with no direction.

"What are you on about, why are you talking some shit now you weirdo" Karen slapped his shoulder gently so it wouldn't hurt but Louis was pretty sure that even she tried to hit him harder he wouldn't had felt it.

"Your jacket, it's soft and it's made out of ostrich feathers" he ran his hand up and down her sleeve.

"You wanna try it on?"

"Fuck, can I? Pretty please?"

She shrugged the jacket of her shoulders and took it off, never in his life has Louis taken off his red bumper jacket that fast and threw it at the elder girl in front of him so they could switch jackets. He took the jacket from her and with a delighted giggle pulled the feather coat on.

The pink dyed feathers engulfed him as it was a tad too big on him, the small feather dancing around him just by the slightest movement.

This is how it feels like to get a hug from a pink ostrich.

"It fits you better than it does on me, I don't know if I should be jealous or not" she giggled as she took Louis' jacket on, the joint between her lips.

"I feel like a big bird"

"More like a small and very tiny bird" she joked.

"I'll punch you in the throat" Louis assured her.

"Can you even reach my neck?"

"That's it, you're not getting your coat back and I'm taking the rest of the joint" he plucked the spliff from between her lips and placed it between his own, taking a huge hit of him, holding it in for a few second before releasing it.

"Hey, the coat was a birthday gift from a friend!"

"Well, if that's the case you'll get it back. Only because you're special and you have good weed" Louis lightly kicked Karen's shin as her legs was hanging out over the edge of the swing.

"Aren't you just nice"

The swing creaked noisily as it swung back and forth, Louis smoked the remaining of the spliff before he threw the burnt out butt away, not caring where it landed. They were laying there in silence, enjoying the high feeling just for a moment without disturbing it. It felt like if either of them was to talk they'd ruin it.

It wasn't awkward between them. It felt just right.

"Jesus I'm so baked" Karen said and broke the quietness.

Louis ran his hand up and down the coat, petting the baby soft feathers as if it was an actual living animal I had on.

"Hm, same. I could go for a sandwich and a coke right now"

"Same"

The two young adults grew quiet again, neither of them had the energy to speak up and Louis felt like he could fall asleep right there without any problems at all. It wouldn't be the smartest thing to do but perhaps it would be a restful slumber for once since he'd moved to Wiltshire.

"Wiltshire is a bit weird, innit?" Louis asked, turning his head towards Karen. His blue eyes was tinted red and glazed over, he smacked his lips as if it would help the dry state the blunt had left his mouth. It didn't, maybe there was a water post somewhere in the park Louis didn't know of.

Hell, he didn't even know that Wiltshire had a park to begin with!

"I mean, you've lived here your whole life so you must have noticed that this place is not really what it seems" the blue eyed continued, eyes never leaving Karen.

She nodded with a slight shrug of her shoulders, her hands was folded on her stomach and she kept on staring into the sky like it held every answer of the universe.

"Yeah... Wiltshire is something else. I can't quite explain... what is going on here most of the time but there's definitely something off about this place, that's why I left the first opportunity I got. Wiltshire have always giving me the creeps, I guess. There nothing really to do here when you’re young besides burning containers off, taking drugs and have sex. I’ll say when you get your first opportunity, leave and don’t look back"

So Louis wasn't the only one noticing the goosebumps awakening aura going on here. It was oddly reassuring and it made him feel a little less mad for once.

"You still lived here when they found David Hollingworth?" Louis asked.

"You’ve heard of that?"

“Hmm, yeah”

“But, yeah I did”

The blue eyed lad cuddled into the jacket and moved a bit away from the girl laying beside him so he could see her reaction to everything, Karen might know more than what he got from that newspaper article he had found on the internet.

Karen scratched her chin, looking like she tried to recall any memories from back then.

"I was 13 when they found him, I remember the panic on everyone's faces. The seer feeling of helplessness and confusion, no one knew what had happened and why it happened. Everyone was scared for their safety" she explained as her body grew more and more tense with each second. "I don't remember much of it, I didn't care much for it back then, I was only a kid and I knew that it wouldn't happen to me. But everyone got told to stay out of the forest when the sun goes down and no one really breaks that rule, still doesn’t, beside the few campers there comes and goes every now and then"

Louis broke that rule.

He nodded, silently begging her to continue talking.

"How do you know what happened to Mr. Hollingworth? You didn't even live here when that happened so why do you care about all that?"

Because he knows what happened to him in that forest. Because Louis wants answers just for once in his life. Because he fucking survived what David Hollingworth didn't and it scares the ever living shit out of him. Because he saw the devil straight in the eyes that night and was sure he would take his last breath in that forest.

Louis didn't voice any of those thought, he looked away just for second or two. It felt like hours in his high stated mind, the buzz slowly dying inside of him from the serious talk they were having on the spider web swing in an abandoned park, in the middle of the night.

"I think I know what killed Hollingworth" he mumbled.

Karen didn't say much only stared back at him with a confused stare, lips slightly parted as she was ready to speak up about what was on her mind.

"Did you just say ' _ what killed _ ' or am I just slowly getting paranoid over here from the weed" she tried to joke and lighten up the mood between them as the thick tension filled the air grew.

Louis shook his head. "No, I know what killed David"

"You're taking the piss"

"And explain to me why I would do that, Karen"

"To make me scared and paranoid cause you get some sick thrill out of it" she tried to reasoning.

"Gee, glad you think so highly of me"

"Stop it Louis, for fuck sake! What are you on about?"

Clearly Karen wouldn't believe him and without a doubt would think he was mentally ill if Louis tried to explain what he saw in the forest.

"Forget what I said, let's just smoke another blunt or something" he sat up with a groan.

No one would believe him. It's frustrating to go around with this inside of him without having someone to talk to. It was eating him up slowly and Louis really wished it didn't, that he could just repress the memories of it.

"C'mon, you can't just say shit like that then say you don't wanna talk about it, you prick. Just spit it out already, I promise I won't judge you"

Well wasn't that just reassuring.

But then again, what does he have to lose? He barely knew this girl beside him so it wasn't like she could phone his friends back in London and let them know what their friend was turning into a lunatic who saw monsters now.

Louis turned around to look into her brown, warm eyes who had a kind feeling to them.

"Promise me you won't think I'm crazy"

"I already think you're a fucking weirdo so this probably won't change my mind" she punched his knee with a smirk. "But try me pal"

Okay Louis, inhale and exhale.

" _ Werewolves. That's what killed 167 civilians of Wiltshire _ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm having some trouble with finishing the next chapter that's why this chapter took a bit longer to be published, i really wanted to finish the next one before publishing this but... that didn't really happen since i'm a bit stuck. however i am currently working on it while i'm posting this one so no need to worry.
> 
> wiltshire is one strange place, innit?
> 
> i've noticed that the story is painfully slow and you haven't even met most of the characters yet, i promise that something will happen soon. i just don't want the story to be too fast paced. 
> 
> i hoped you enjoyed the chapter and sorry if there's any mistakes, i didn't really throughly read through it. just fixed the obvious misspellings and stuff like that.
> 
> until next time xx


	7. if it's the last thing i do

[ _ Imagine Dragons - Bleeding Out _ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=73K-PNAVQ8qMowwj6SniGA)

[ _ The Soft Moon - Black _ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=73K-PNAVQ8qMowwj6SniGA)

 

 

It wasn't really a surprised to Louis that Karen didn't believe him for one bit, she didn't let it show on her face though which Louis was kind of relieved for, in some fucked up way. She'd just sat there with a blank stare and nodding along with whatever Louis told her, probably too high to even understand what had left his mouth. Or perhaps she just didn't care in bit about it and simply thought Louis was batshit crazy.

He couldn't really blame her. He thought he was absolutely out of his mind too.

" _ Werewolves _ " she had just said, dumbfounded look painted on her face, scoffed quietly at Louis’ absurd statement. 

Maybe she'd thought that Louis hadn't heard her but he did.

Loud and clear.

It wasn't that he was delusional and actually thought she would've believed him, but it would most definitely have been nice to finally have someone on his side just for once in his lifetime without them doubting him, or questioning his sanity. 

He had a therapist to do that and he didn't need another person on the sideline doing the same exact thing.

It was a nice thought at least.

However, it was absolutely useless. No one was that stupid and stuck in a imaginary mindset of fantasy that they would have understood even a snippet of what Louis was talking about, convince them what he'd seen truly existed and was well alive, still roaming around in the forest of Wiltshire and ready to find its next victim to devour remorseless.

Karen hadn't straight up told him he was crazy but she didn't have much to say either, just kept quiet and lit up another blunt, carelessly, not even caring about Louis' thoughts racing around his head. It was a bittersweet feeling but then again, why would she? They didn't know each other.

They'd quickly dropped the subject of the beast, Karen wasn't gonna believe him whether he tried to further explain why and how. Just kept on smoking and forget it ever happened.

Exactly like everything else Louis does in his fucked up conditions he calls life

_ Get up, brush the dust off, forget it and get over it. _

It wasn't the healthiest way of thinking and living but it had gotten him this far in life and this was just the way things had to be.

Whether he could deal with it or not.

With a deep sigh he rolled over to his side to tiredly stare at the alarm clock there kept on beeping noisily with such a despair, the annoying screeching there kept on coming from it repeatedly made the pounding headache worsen as each second there goes by. Louis regretted everything in his life there led up to this exact moment.

He felt faint and tired, his body aching as if he had laid in a uncomfortable position the whole night and his left leg was prickling since it was still asleep. He wish  _ he _ was still asleep, oblivious to the rest of the world and what there was going on out in reality, unconscious and lost in his own void of a dreamworld.

It felt like he was coming down with a fever.

"For  _ fuck _ sake" he groaned loudly and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock to make it stop ringing, most likely breaking it in the process but hell, he didn't care one bit about that alarm clock and its state.

The birds was singing outside, fluttering around without a care in the world. Louis could faintly see the sun rising behind the trees of the forest, giving away a warm and golden glow in its awakening like the bastard that it was.

The blue eyed lad would give his left arm just to get back to sleep but work was calling and he could hear Mark walking around downstairs, probably making breakfast and reading the newspaper like he does every morning.

A yawn creeped itself out of Louis' mouth before he could hold it back. He ran a hand down his sleep puffy face as he pushed the thick duvet away from his body, it took the remaining of the heat away with it and Louis was left cold and tired as he stood up from his bed. The floor was freezing cold underneath his feet as always since there was no heat in this shitty house.

It wouldn't be long before he would catch a cold because of this house.

He found a remotely clean sweater on the floor, pulled it over his head and made a mess of his already tousled hair there was pointing in every direction. He was already wearing pyjamas pants, a dark blue pair with frowning smileys on that Stan gave him for shits and giggles on his birthday who know knows how long ago,  _ they look like you _ Stan had said with a shit eating grin as he pointed at the frowning smileys on the soft material, but honestly, it was the most comfortable thing Louis owned and he used them religiously so they were pretty worn out and stretched in some places from its overuse. Best gift ever Louis would say.

Louis opened his bedroom door, the hinges squeaking and making a lot of unnecessary noise. He was met with the cold and dark stairs, Mark hadn't turned on a single light besides those in the kitchen which Louis faintly could see from where he was standing at the top of the staircase.

"Is there still coffee in the pot?" Louis yelled out loud as he walked down the stairs, each step louder than the next one making it echo in the house.

"Yeah, it's about time you woke up too. Was starting to get worried and I thought I would have to go up there and check on you for a minute there"

The blue eyed lad came into the kitchen with another yawn there made his father look up from where he was reading the newspaper ( _ of course, what a stereotypical dad thing to do _ ), a mug filled with bitter black coffee in his hands and a pair of slim reading glasses on his face. Mark's tired blue eyes met his with a questioning eyebrow raised.

He would open that can of worms later on, first coffee so he could wake up properly and not feel like a zombie before Mark would go on his parentally rant and curse him out.

Like every morning Louis poured some coffee into his mug there was a little chipped at the rim of it, with a text on it saying ' _ asshole #2 _ ' Stan, Calvin and him bought somewhere he couldn't remember. The hot beverage heated up his freezing hands as he held onto it for dear life as if it would escape from him, and sat down on the old and fairly over used barstool in front of Mark whose eyes never left him.

The radio was playing quietly in the background, giving out a sense of familiarity and a warm homey feeling. Sam Smith's voice was crooning and whining about not finding true love as the two Tomlinsons kept their silence. Louis already knew what was coming before Mark even opened his mouth. He wasn't stupid, he knew that he would get shit for leaving Anne-Louise's house like that yesterday with Karen. He didn't regret it though. He'd found a easy way out of the dinner and he took it without hesitation or single thought about how his father had felt about it.

As they sipped their bitter beverages in peace Louis awaited the ambush from his father.

_ Just say it already so we can get over with it. _

Mark folded the newspaper and laid it down on the kitchen island with a sigh.

Here we go.

"So what was that yesterday?" He begun with, folding his hands neatly under his chin. With his glasses still placed on his nose he oddly resembled his therapist, Dr. Tewers. "Where in the right mind did you find it alright to just up and leave like that?"

Louis couldn't help but grin a little bit by the time his father was done speaking, rolling his eyes so hard that it was a wonder they didn't just pop out right there.

"Come off it, won't ya? It wasn't like I actually was needed there in any possible way, frankly I shouldn't even have been invited to it in the first place" Louis reassured him and took a large gulp of the coffee. Mark shook his head as if what Louis just said made no sense to him at all, took a bite of a piece of buttered toast that Louis first noticed was on a plate now.

"Where was your manners in all this?”

“I don’t have any, I thought you knew that already”

“You can't just leave like that, like a spoiled brat Louis. I sure didn't raise you like this"

Louis gasped at his father's words with wide eyes, his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

He slammed his cup down on the table, it was a wonder that it didn't break right there.

"You didn't raise me like anything, mum was the one who took care of me while you spend your time in the garage and forgot about us like always. So don't try to come for me, the only thing you taught me was how to fix cars so I could help you downstairs!"

"Don't you dare say that, you know bloody  _ damn well _ that it isn't anywhere near the truth. I did everything for you and Jay!"

They both knew that Louis was lying out of spite, hurling poisonous words at his father just to make him feel awful just like he did every time they were arguing.

It was actually the exact opposite, Mark was always there when Louis needed him. Always ready to give his shoulder to lean on if needed, he'd be there if you yelled out for help without a second thought.

He knew what exactly words would hurt his father enough to push him to his breaking point, which one there'd get them into a heated argument there seemed never ending.

Something was pawing at him inside of his mind, begging him to stop. His omega's whiny voice echoed loudly in his head, wanting to be heard and would make sure it was.

Louder than ever.

He pinched his thigh hard enough for it to just shut up.

Louis looked down at his hands and tried to remember what Dr. Tewers had told him to do in these kinds of situations when he wanted to scream and throw a fit like a thirteen year old boy not getting what he wanted.

" _ Nothing good will ever come out of you yelling irrational words at your father, remember that all he wants for you is the best things to happen for you. He's just a bit overprotective of you since your mother's death. Give him the benefit of doubt and hear him out _ " he had said.

Fuck him for being right.

With a deep sigh Louis closed his eyes just for a second, trying to find the right words to say so he wouldn't screw this up and make a fool out of himself again. Lord knows that he wasn't known for thinking before opening his mouth.

"I'm... I guess I'm sorry?" It came out more like a question but at least he tried.

"You guess?"

"C'mon dad, you know I'm trying my best here. I'm sorry I left like a " _ spoiled brat _ " as you so kindly put it, and made you look like the worst dad in the world. And for saying that you weren't there when I was younger"

Mark looked a bit... proud of him? That or he held in a fart but for his own sake he'd say it was the first one. Louis wasn't the type to go out of his way to apologise for anything really, always choosing to forget rather than speak about the problem. Hoping it would solve itself in the end.

So this was a whole new thing for Mark too, hearing his son actually say the words ' _ sorry _ ' was something he could get used too. Unfortunately Louis hoped that it wouldn't become a daily thing.

"I accept your apology, I know your emotions are a bit all over the place" Mark drank the remaining of his bitter coffee and sliding his glasses up to his hair there'd started to get a grey tint to the roots of his head. It was a weird feeling that his father was actually getting old, seeing him age. Louis was probably the reason why he had gotten that much grey hair, always pushing him to the core of anger and stressing him out.

Louis stole the other piece of toast on Mark's plate, biting into it before he could take it out of his hand.

"And why is my emotions all over the place if I may ask?" he mumbled around the toast in his mouth. It was a bit dry and could most definitely had used more butter. "As far as I know I'm not a hormonal girl on my period"

Mark gave him a weird stare with his eyebrows raised high so they almost touch his hairline, looking like he knew something was totally wrong with what Louis just had said. Fiddling awkwardly with his hands.

"Your heat?"

"What about my heat, do you know something that I don't?"

"It's coming up soon, in a week and a half to be exact. You know that, right?"

Shit.

_ Shit, fuck shit! _

Never in his entire life of living had Louis forgotten when his heat was coming up, always dreading and moaning about it a week before it would be happening and making sure he got everything he absolutely needs. Always had scent neutraliser sprays laying around, ready to cloud the air in his room with it and his suppressant would be nearby.

It was always on schedule, never a day over or a day before.

He must have forgotten, pushed it to the back of his mind since all this happened. Since Wiltshire happened.

It explains why Louis felt like dying when he woke up, his body and pheromones all over the place-.

He'd forgotten to take his suppressants, his heat will last six days instead of three.

He didn't forget his suppressants.

Louis never fucking forgets his heat and his suppressants!

His chest was expanding quicker and quicker with each rasping breathe for air he tried to get in, unconsciously pinching his thighs again and again and again and again, just to feel something else than the feeling of water filling up his lungs instead of oxygen there should've been there.

Pain was grounding, pain was a feeling he knew well. Like an old friend.

Sounds was muffled as if his head was under water, he tried to make sense of them but nothing happened, nothing helped. Hands was holding onto his shoulders, shaking them but everything was slowed down, he couldn't see properly. Like a black blanket silently and slowly sneaking in at the corner of his eyes.

He was drowning.

He didn't take his suppressants.

He had forgot.

_ Bad omega _ .

"Louis!" his father yelled which made Louis whine loudly. His omega didn't liked to be yelled at. Hated it.

Mark took his hand and put it on his own chest, making sure his son could feel every intake of air he took as he tried to get Louis' breath under control. "Relax, please Louis. You gotta relax for me, I can't help you if you don't calm down"

_ Why didn't you take your suppressants?! _

Louis' hand clenched around the fabric, trying ground himself. Mind running at the speed of light, it hurt.

"Son, you got to help me here. C'mon, inhale... exhale"

_ Inhale, exhale. _

_ Inhale, exhale. _

Whine after whine tumbled out of his lips uncontrollably as his inner omega begged for grounding and peace. It couldn't settle down.

It felt like hours before he finally got his breathing under control, them standing in the kitchen. Louis was sure he had pinched himself to bruising point.

Great.

Everything was just fucking great.

"Lou" Mark mumbled as Louis finally let go of his shirt he sure had wrinkled so bad it would never be fixed, his father was still holding onto his hand like a lifeline. The blue eyed lad could feel his father's heart ramming at a alarming rate, ready to burst free and Louis wasn't sure how he felt about it.

There they was again, Louis almost giving Mark a heart attack because a bloody panic attack.

"You should stay home, this was-"

"No, I'm not staying home" Louis interrupted determined. “I will go out of my mind if I stay inside”

Mark sighed. "Don't push yourself to the point of no return, I rather not see that again"

Louis' eyes was casted down to the floor, a red tint was taking over his cheeks as the embarrassment was finally sinking in of what just had happened. Again. This wasn’t the first nor second panic attack he had in front of Mark and it probably won’t be the last one, he’s had them since he turned out to be an omega and they’ve just gotten worse and worse without Louis getting the help he needed for them. He hadn’t spoken to Dr. Tewers about them yet but perhaps it was about time he should do that, there must had been some way he could get control over them.

"I won't" Louis promised. His eyes wouldn't meet Mark's as he spoke. He rather just go to work and forget this.

"Lou-"

"Let's just drop it, yeah? I'm talking to Dr. Tewers later anyways so there really no reason for us to talk about it"

"There's plenty of reasons for us to talk about what just happen"

Well maybe Louis just didn't want to talk about it, he rather talk about anything else but that to be honest.

He'd yet to talk about his attacks with his therapist however it seemed like it was about time that would come up.

Louis jumped down from the barstool. "Yeah, but I don't want to" and with that he turned around.

His body was begging for a shower, peace and quiet and just a moment to not think about this mess.

Just one got forsaken moment.

 

 

**_****_ **

  
  


Niall was as annoying as any other normal day but he was a lovely distraction from the havoc that was going on of the inside of his head, the Irish lad kept on blabbering on and on about useless stuff that Louis didn't care much for to actually answer properly, just nodding along and humming when it was necessary and appropriate so it seemed like he was listening. Niall made amazing background noise and drowned out his thoughts.

Mark was somewhere doing god knows what.

Louis had popped two heat suppressants in hope of fixing his problems (the package said to only take one) and sprayed himself with almost a half a bottle of scent blocking perfume when he'd stepped out of the shower, feeling a bit better about himself.

He wasn't a idiot, he knew that he wouldn't help one bit and he'd be stuck in a miserable situation less than two weeks.

Heat suppressants wasn't necessarily a bad thing even though a lot of doctors and pharmacists wouldn't give them to O's. Plenty of omegas took them to get out of an occasional heat or make them last a shorter period, mostly they took them when there was an upcoming exam they had to attend or something equally as important as that. However long term use was frown and looked down upon, but it was extremely rare that an omega would take them for over a year or longer in the first place, with all the side effects no one was stupid enough to actually do that.

Louis never said he was sharpest tool in the shed.

They hovered over the engine of a car, or Louis did, Niall was just standing beside him looking like he actually worked but didn't do jack shit, trying to figure out why the car - a man named Josh Marsh came in with - wouldn't start. The Irish lad was going on and on about something Louis hadn't cared for to actually listen to.

"-and she was all " _ I have a mate at home, he's waiting for me _ " but I sure as hell didn't see any bite marks on her shoulder so it was pretty obvious that she was lying to me. But me, I didn't care about it, there's someone out there for me and I just have to try searching a little harder, maybe she just isn't into betas like us. She being an omega and all that but her loss cause I'm a fucking delight to be with and she's miss-"

"Niall" Louis interrupted as he lifted his he'd to look at the blue eyed lad besides him. "Shut up for one moment and gimme the wrench"

Niall smiled big, showing of all of his teeth like an absolute maniac. "Say please"

"I'll punch you in the dick. Give me the wrench"

With a booming laugh Niall turned around to walk over to the red painted toolbox in search of a wrench. “If you keep sweet talking me like that I might drop down to me knees and suck yours” he joked.

Jesus, Louis did not have the energy for Niall today. He was already on his last straw. His head was foggy and felt heavy on his shoulders, body aching and already giving signs for his upcoming heat in its vicious ways.

It wasn't fucking fair.

Something must have gone wrong, it was pretty clear he wasn't meant to be an O, he had prayed and hoped he'd turn out to be a beta since it was out of the picture of him being an alpha, with his lithe and slender figure, small hands and petite  _ everything _ , it was impossible of him turning out to be an bloody alpha but he was still way too stubborn and angry to be a typical omega. He wasn't really mate martial to quite honest.

Being a beta would've been fine, fantastic even! He'd never understood the hype about the whole bonding thing anyways and hadn't really tried to put himself in that situation.

Not that he wanted to, god no.

"Uhm, Louis?" Niall yelled out loud to get his attention.

"Yeah Niall, what can you possibly want now?"

"What does a wrench look like?"

_ I will fucking murder you. _

Huffing and puffing with anger and frustration oozing out of him he walked towards Niall with a hard stare, each step louder than the other and with a screwdriver tightly held in his hand looking like he was actually gonna murder the beta in front of him. If it wasn't illegal to commit homicide Louis would probably had stabbed him right there, let him bleed out on the cold stone floor.

But Louis wasn't a murder and it was in fact illegal to kill someone.

"This-" Louis said as he pulled an old and used wrench out of the box, waving it in front of Niall' face to emphasise the point, almost hitting the poor bloke's nose. "-is a bloody wrench and you better get used to how it looks cause you'll see this a lot while working here, which hopefully won't be for too long if it was up to me" he turned around again and walked over to the broken car they were working on.

Louis was working on.

"Gee, someone stepped out of the wrong side of the bed, didn't ya? Sorry, my fault. No need to go all beast mode on me" Niall joked, everything was a joke to him.

Niall was fucking joke and it wasn't funny anymore.

Louis groaned and mentally slammed his down on the hood of the car. This was gonna be the longest day to humankind's history.

Louis got back to working on the blue Mazda while Niall was hovering and puttering around like an idiot, clearly not wanting to get too close to the angry omega in fear on being yelled at. Again.

You could faintly hear Mark whistling from the other side of the garage, putting things into boxes there needed to be thrown out for ages but never got around to do.

Mark had tried to approach Louis the whole day and see if the right time for talking about what had happened this morning would ever come, obviously he didn't know his own son too well then. The right time would never come, Louis would make sure of that. The blue eyed lad just kept on telling him the same over and over again: " _ I'm seeing Dr. Tewers later today, I'll talk with him about it so there's no need for you to worry about it _ ", as if it would fix the problem.

With a deep exhale he took the huge battery out of the car, it was clear that it was the reason it wouldn't start. The car needed a new one.

"Niall?"

The Irish lad turned around from where he was standing, sky like blue eyes met Louis' own in a questioning way, his t-shirt falling off his shoulder as it was too big and showing of his porcelain coloured skin tone there was a stark contrast to the deep brown shirt.

Niall was clearly in need of some sunlight on his body.

"Are you gonna yell at me again for not knowing how a wrench looks like?" he asked with a small smile.

Louis rolled his eyes and slightly shook his head. "No but do you know what a battery is and what it looks like? Cause I need one, the car's old one was as good as gone and is in a desperate need of a new one"

Niall grinned big. "Of course, sure can do. I'll be back before you can say 'Antidisestablishm-'"

"Niall just get the bloody battery already"

And what should only had taken about four minutes took Niall ten, of course he had to stop up and talk with Mark for half of those minutes, talking about God knows what. Probably football and beer, y'know. Man talk and all that. But not only did he do that, no. Niall had to waddle back like the battery was the heaviest thing in the whole fucking world and be an absolutely twat about.

_ It's like lifting dead body weight! _ , he had complained and put the battery besides Louis' feet with a breathless sigh.

"Just... Just go already" Louis groaned and closed his eyes, counting to ten inside of his head.

"Don't you want me to help you install it in the car?"

"I'd rather you just left me alone for the rest of the day" he confessed.

Niall fixed his shirt so it was sitting properly on him. "Well shit, aren't you a joy to be around"

Louis was a bit taken back by Niall's words, giving him a surprised facial expression. Who would've thought Niall could actually talk back?

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah excuse you, what's up with you being such a prick. Normally I can take it but you've been after me the whole day and frankly I had have enough of it. Be nice or I'll do something I'll later on regret and perhaps get me fired" Niall assured him, threatened him almost with what would normally resemble a cloud free sky eye colour turning into stormy and almost a greyish one.

"Oh and what could that possibly be?" Louis poked to the fire, trying to rile up Niall.

Honestly it was refreshing to see Niall anything but carefree and happy. He did have other emotions in that body of his.

The angry bloke shook his head in a ' _ you wouldn't want to know _ ' way as if it would scare Louis enough to take back his words and shake with fear.

"Try me"

"Maybe I should"

Niall turned around and stormed away like an angry toddler not getting what he wanted, not wanting to give Louis the satisfaction of anger even though Louis could actually smell the anger coming from him. It smelt a bit like burnt paper or something equally as weird as that.

Which was a bit confusing.

Since Louis started on the heat suppressants his senses and over all omega abilities have gotten awfully a lot weaker, he couldn't smell scents coming from people around him as well and couldn't really tell what gender they had.

But Niall's pheromones had hit him straight in the face as he could tell without a doubt in his mind that he was a beta and was in fact very angry.

Something caught Louis' eyes as Niall had turned around and frustrated walked away at the top on the beta's spine.

"Niall! Stop for a second!"

Of course he didn't. Just kept on walking further into the garage away from Louis. The blue eyed boy ran up Niall as quickly as he could. He had to make sure that what he saw wasn't just a glimpse of the light playing with his mind.

As he ran up to the young man and finally was in a arm length reach, he pulled the shirt further down Niall's back. Almost choking him.

"What the fuck?! Let me go!" Niall trashed around trying to get the omega of him. "Let go of me now!"

Right there at the very top at Niall's spine was a white symbol either fucking burnt into his skin or cut into it, fine lines making it almost seem like a tattoo but there was no doubt that it was a very prominent scar there.

It looked like a tribal scarification.

Louis finally eased the tight grip of the shirt so Niall pushed the smaller bloke away from him with a loud huff as if he was out of breath already.

"What the fuck was that, are you trying to literally kill me now?" Niall accused him, whole body shaking and his wide eyes was staring directly into Louis, he was sure if Niall was an animation there would've came steam out of his ear.

"Niall, what is that on your neck?" Louis asked not caring for answering any of his questions. He could see Mark in the corner of his eye, intensely looking at them and ready to step in if a fight was ready to break loose. All alpha like.

Niall slapped a hand on his neck trying to hide what Louis already had seen and gotten a good look at, it was too late now.

"Nothing. It's nothing"

"Is it cut into your skin?"

"Let it go Louis, it's nothing. Just-just some scar I got when I was younger" he tried to voice but it came out weak and it was so easy to tell it was a big fat lie.

"Weird, cause it looks a bit like a sun to me if I have to be honest with you here, like someone did it on you" Louis kept going. Niall looked everywhere but Louis, not meeting his eyes as he spoke. It looked like he tried to find a way to escape, wild eyes searching for even a small window he could jump out of.

Like a caged animal.

The beta shrugged. "It's really not anything you should-"

"Oh it's definitely something I should worry about. Is someone hurting you Niall?"

"No!" he suddenly yelled out making Louis jump a bit back out of fright, Niall looked ready to pounce at him if he even made the smallest movement. "No one his hurting me! Let it go already, won't ya?"

For the second time of the day Niall stormed away from Louis.

That was a scarification of a sun Niall had at the top of his very spine.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Talking with Dr. Tewers didn't help much with making sense of what had happened that day. Not that he didn't try to help, he certainly did but Louis wasn't keen on talking about it. He didn't have anything against the therapist at all but Louis wasn't sure how to voice it to him so it wouldn't come out as confusing half sentences word vomit that made no sense for anyone but himself nor did i want to… expose himself too much.

They hadn't really spoken about the problems Louis was having currently but more about the whole ' _ I hate being an omega _ ' situation and Louis had going on, Dr. Tewers had said that if they focused on that maybe some of his other problems would get fixed along the way by themselves, that they would make more sense to the young lad.

Which wasn't very likely but whatever made him happy.

Daniel Tewers was all about ' _ maybe you should let go of your product one by one, like you'll stop using the scent neutralising spray. I'm definitely not saying you should do it today or tomorrow but maybe not use a half bottle whenever you do and only put it on whenever you're in heat _ ', Louis was definitely not into that.

He had also tried to make Louis talk about the forest accident which was a big no for the blue eyed lad. All prodding questions as " _ what had happened out there? _ " and " _ did someone hurt you? _ ".

He would have loved to talk about what had happened with Niall today and his little freak out earlier but... he just didn't.

Tewers freaks him a bit out with his all knowing eyes and he isn't really sure he actually wants to talk to him at all.

Louis drove home with what felt like a huge rock in his stomach and a picture in his mind of Niall's sun in his neck.

Nothing made fucking sense anymore.

The familiar sign of Wiltshire came into his vision and he drove further into the town, beige houses and pretty front yards, old shops and small bakeries. All looking so perfect and in place. Louis hated it, he wanted messy graffiti and drunks roaming the street causing a ruckus. Noisy people, loud horns coming from cars and everything in between.

Not perfectly trimmed gardens and fake smiles for everyone.

Anything but fucking Wiltshire.

He sighed deeply as he drove into their driveway and parked the car, he was pretty sure if he left it unlocked no one would actually steal it but his father would kill him if he did. That car had a lot of memories to it.

Luckily Mark made him take a shower and change his clothes before he left for the therapy session so he wouldn't have to think about that when he stepped into their house.

"Anyone home?" he yelled out loud as he closed the front door behind himself. Mark dropped a pan in the kitchen which was a pretty damn good sign that he was in fact in the kitchen. 

"What are you making?"

"I bought some noodles yesterday and wanted to fry them with some vegetables but... I burnt them and now I'm making nuggets instead" Mark confessed, Louis walked into the kitchen and yeah, there smelled like burnt  _ something _ . Not noodles though.

Mark had his back to him and was frying some chicken nuggets on the pan, his father always ended up making chicken nuggets whenever he messed up in the kitchen.

Which was quite often.

Louis eats a lot of nuggets.

"How did your session go?" Mark asked and played the fried chicken onto two plates with a side of fries. "Did you talk about the whole thing what happened with Niall and you today?". 

Of course he would ask about that, Mark wasn't sure what Louis had said to make the other boy leave like that and Louis wasn't one to tell things to his father.

"Yeah" Louis lied.

"And how did that go?"

"Fine. I feel much better now"

"You know, it's not dangerous to tell your dad how you're feeling. You and Niall was finally getting on, almost becoming friends"

_ Yeah, not really _ .

Louis shrugged and took the plate out of Mark's hand and greedily started to eat the food on it. "We pay a man who have a degree in listening to people's problems and try to fix them" and that was the end of that decision. The alpha already knew that it was hopeless to get his son talking and he would rather not make it a bigger problem than it needed to be.

They ate in silence as they did almost every night, Mark was usually too tired to speak and Louis' mind was to loud to let him.

He should really make Dr. Tewers help him shut up his damn thoughts.

Mark was yawning loudly and not even trying to hide it, eyes tired and body heavily slumbered forward in what looked like an very uncomfortable way.

"Did Niall ever come back while I was away?" Louis asked with his mouth full of fried chicken, grease coating his lips in a glossy way as well as his fingers. "Or did he decide that he just wasn't cut out for the job anyway?"

The alpha shook his head while he swallowed a mouthful of food. "No, no he didn't come back but he did decide to call me and apologies for leaving abruptly like that. He's still an employee of mine"

Well there goes that dream.

"Officer Payne showed up though"

The omega had to stop up just for a second to let the words sink in.

_ He did what?! _

Louis' whole body tensed up as those word left Mark's mouth already on guard for whatever there was to come, hands clenching tightly and lips set down in a frown.

He was not prepared for this. He fucking told Liam to stay away and the first chance Louis isn't there he shows up, he's like a bloody parasite. You can't just get rid of him, he's everywhere!

Oh god, what if he told Mark what Louis had said in the hospital bed to him? Every worst scenarios popped up in Louis' head before he could stop them, already digging themselves into his mind, clawing their way in and wouldn't let go.

"What did he want?"

Mark ate his last nuggets before answering really getting on Louis' last nerve with his much he was stretching out the time, like he knew the mess there was going on in the inside of Louis and just wanted to torment him further.

"He was simply looking for you, wanted to talk with you about something he wouldn't tell me, said it was between you and him. Do you have something to tell me that I might just wanna know?" Mark leaned in closer over the table, looking directly into Louis' eyes like he was hiding something from him and his eyes would tell on him.

_ There's a lot I should tell you. _

Louis clicked with his tongue once as he shook his head. "Not that I know of, no" he lied.

Mark hummed quietly, stood up to put his plate in the sink. With his back turned to his son his continued speaking.

"There was something off about him, he seemed very urgent with the whole 'speaking to you' thing and wanted to know where you was. I think I calmed him down a bit and we started to talk about the design of the Mazda-"

_ Of course they did. _

"-but he told me to let you know not to go into the forest anymore, not even in the daylight. Which I found a bit weird since you-" Louis drowned out the rest of what his father said.

Something was going on and Louis didn't know how to feel about it all, it felt like a cold hand was running over his whole body leaving a ghost like feeling in its awakening and thousands of prickling needles boring into his skin in a cruel way. A nagging and chilling feeling ran up at his spine, pressing itself into his already clustered mind and wanting to make his messy thoughts worse than they were.

Liam knew that those words would affect Louis in some way and would make him want to go out there, get himself fucking killed as if he wasn't lucky enough he got away with it the first time!

And he was absolutely right. Curiosity did kill the cat in the end, right?

His inner omega whined clawed and whined deafening out of nowhere.

It was the first time it had ever done that.

Something was seriously going on.

"Louis, are you even listening?" Mark interrupted his trainwreck of thoughts.

"Huh?"

The alpha put his big paw like hands on his son's shoulder to make him look at him.

"Are you okay? Are you gonna have another panic attack? Did you-"

Louis waved his hand to make his father shut up before he would get a panic attack from all his worrying.

"Psh, stop it. I'm just tired, haven't been sleeping that great for a while know and it's finally catching up on me. Can't run from anything, can I?" he tried to joke to make his father drop it.

Which did the exact opposite.

Mark pulled Louis up from the barstool and pushed him towards the staircase leading up to his room. "Go to bed, it's an order"

"What about the dishes?"

"We have a dishwasher, go to bed for heaven's sake. No excuses"

Without further ado Louis was almost pushed up the stairs, closing the room behind himself with a tired sigh.

His window was open.

Again.

He hadn't left it open. He never does.

The blue eyed lad looked around his room suspiciously, it felt like someone had been there but he couldn't pick up any new scent and nothing was out of ordinary, was left to where he had placed it the last time but something wasn't right.

Nothing felt right anymore and it just kept on getting worse and worse with each second that goes by.

Wiltshire is making him go crazy!

As he ran a hand through his long hair he sat down on his bed, not even sure what to do with himself at this point. Not only was the sleep deprivation catching up on him but everything was in fact doing it, tumbling down upon him like a waterfall and it felt like his knees was ready to give up under him any given time.

It's too much.

First Miss Perfect Arkins and her bong head of a daughter then the fucking werewolf there was walking around in the forest like it was taken straight out of  _ Twilight _ or something like that! Then... then Liam Payne-in-the-ass and Niall with his sun scarification.

Maybe he should just go out there and get eaten and stop all this once and for all.

A shiver ran through his body from his morbid thoughts.

Okay he wouldn't enjoy getting eaten and the whole Niall thing was a bit of an overreaction, what he does to his own body is his own choice but it's just so weird.

Louis couldn't keep up with it all.

He fell back with a loud groan and his arms spread out. Louis felt so tired and restless at the same time, things had finally started to making sense and calm down. But it was all silence before the storm, before all hell broke loose.

He couldn't help but think about what Officer Payne said about the forest.

_ Don't go out there. No matter what. _

That had the exact opposite effect on people when they get told that, Louis never wanted to go back there but now he couldn't help but wonder what the alpha was hiding and why he came directly to Louis to tell him this. It wasn't something he had to worry about before.

"Jesus fucking help me here!" he complained.

_ Gimme a sign or something like that. _

The room became eerily quiet, you couldn't even hear Mark downstairs which in itself was weird. It was like the world stopped spinning around, 10 seconds of complete silence. Not even the wind rustled the trees outside. A loud thump came from nearby his open window and made Louis sit up with a small gasp.

A broken branch was laying on his floor pointing towards the forest.

Wiltshire really want him to die that bad, huh.

But it gave Louis the last push.

With a determined glare he stood up from his bed a found his jacket hanging on the door He pulled it on while he was walking down the stairs in such a rush it was a wonder he didn't fell down a broke something.

"Louis?" Mark's voice came from the living room. He didn't have time. He needed to do this. "Shouldn't you be sleeping by now?"

"C'mon" he mumbled frustrated as he stepped into his shoes. He had to get something from the garage to protect himself before stepping into that forest again. "Bye!" he yelled out loud and slammed the door behind him, not even hearing his father's answer.

Standing in the garage in the darkness was something else, his flashlight from his phone didn't help much in the huge room but it didn't take long before he found a crowbar at some countertop.

He's gonna fucking die but he won't go out without a fight.

For the first time since the accident Louis walked into the forest consciously, the crowbar slung over his shoulder and his phone lighting up where he was going, it was already getting pretty dark outside and Louis knew from experience that the lampposts wouldn't reach into the forest the further he got.

He didn't follow a the path, just walked where ever he faintly remember he was the last time.

"Come out wherever you are!" He screamed and it echoed far into the forest, arms swung out in a open invitation. Like an idiot. "I'm the one who got away! Liam are you here too, are you gonna try kill me too?!"

He kept on screaming and yelling to get someone attention but not even a single bush was moving. Nothing happened but he continued his rampage, hurling words left and right.

Louis swung the crowbars at the trees as he passed them leaving a nice little dent and mark every now and then. He must've looked like he was bat shit crazy and had ran away from a madhouse but no one was obvious out there. And it was quite freeing.

A tree couldn't feel anything.

"I'm here! Ready to be attacked again, see if you can actually catch me this time!" he tormented the beast.

He wanted it out of its hiding.

_ Swush _ , the crowbar said as it hit another tree and made a deep dent.

And another. And another.

"Fucking come at me already!"

"Louis"

The omega turned around and swung the black metal on his way at the stranger behind him but it was quickly grabbed out of his hand and thrown away before he could stop it from happening.

Liam was standing in front of him with all his black bomber jacket glory and warm brown eyes.

"Well if it isn't our dear police officer Liam Payne, what a  _ surprise _ to see you out here"

Liam's crooked smile gave out something sinister and wild. Broad shoulders and legs spread wide like he was ready for Louis' ambush any given time.

"I thought I told your father to tell you not to come here anymore" Liam said.

"You know as well as me that you wanted me to come here"

The officer's facial expression changes from smug to slightly confused, like that little actor that he was.

The wind had started to pick up again, whipping the fallen leaves all around them.

"And why is that?" Liam asked and stepped a bit closer to the omega. "I wouldn't want you to fall down another hill, if I'm right"

Right. The hill story Louis told him at the hospital. How could he forget that?

"Right. And why are you here?" Louis' eyes left Liam for a short second trying to search for where the crowbar had landed when Liam threw it away.

"You called out my name"

"That means you were here already, now answer me truthfully, why are you here Liam?"

The smug facade slowly slipped from the older man's face and was instantly replaced with a vicious smirk that said nothing but evil. Louis could finally feel the cold sipping into his bones.

This was such a stupid idea.

"You got me there Tomlinson" he started to circle the small omega like an wild animal playing with its prey. "I was waiting for you, thought that only a boy stupid enough as you would go in here again. Right into a death trap"

What was going on?

"Are you going to kill me, like the rest of them?" Louis tried to hide the fear in his voice but it was getting harder as harder as Liam closed in on him. "Are you gonna leave me here and say it was some wild dog who did it, just like Mr. Hollingworth?"

Liam chuckled and shook his head.

Louis could feel himself starting to shake violently, adrenaline and fear was pumping through him in a dangerous cocktail. The fight or flight instinct was flaring up inside of him and the flight was definitely winning.

"No" Liam answered simply.

"No?"

"No, we don't kill people"

_ We? Who is we? _

Is there more people like him? Psychopaths roaming the forest.

The blue eyed boy finally found the crowbar laying between two stones, camouflage. He tried to take one little step closer to it.

"Stop"

And Louis did.

"Don't go near it"

"Okay, okay I won't. Just-just who are you with?" Louis asked gently, raised his hands slowly up signalling that he wouldn't touch the crowbar.

Fuck.

He was definitely gonna die before he turned twenty.

"You already know too much" Liam informed him with a slight snarl.

Louis shook his head quickly making himself dizzy. "I know nothing" he tried to assure the alpha.

He sighed deeply and was meet with a faint smell of pine trees and wet grass, Liam was oozing out frustrating and confusing which made Louis feel tense and confused as well. Why was this lunatic confused?

He was gonna kill Louis anyways!

Suddenly a loud howl was heard from behind him, the familiarity of it scared Louis to the core however Liam looked easily as scared as him.

"Oh no" came from Louis before he could stop himself. He knew that noise.

"He's here" Liam said as if it would made sense at all.

Who's here?!

"Liam! Who is here?! We gotta run!" Louis ran towards Liam to grab his hand and pull him away from all this. "We can make it if we're quick"

"Alpha"

Liam was kneeling down on the wet ground like he was standing in front of the Queen of England.

"Liam please, we gotta go" but he didn't move, just kept on kneeling.

Louis wasn't gonna die in the paws of this beast. Whether Liam was gonna follow him out of here or not.

He didn't make it very far.

Not even two steps to be exact.

Something heavy and rock solid hit his back and made Louis fall face down on the muddy ground, punching what air he had in his lungs out with its brutal force. Flashback from his tormenting nightmares came back as flashing lights. His heart was trying to burst through his chest at its alarming rate of it pumping and his ears was filled with white noise.

Louis felt something breathing heavily down his neck, the tangy smell of metal made Louis close his eyes.

God no, please don't hurt me.

He was pushed on to his back before his could protest, eyes still closed.

_ Look at me! _

_ Look at me beta! _

He opened his eyes and saw what he thought was only figments of his own dream.

A fury muzzle was close to his face but what caught Louis attention wasn't the hairy beast looming over him, growling.

No it was what there was staring directly into his stormy blue eyes.

_ Red eyes. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, no harry? 
> 
> *slams phone on the ground and jump on it to make sure it breaks*
> 
> yeah, no harry. yet.
> 
> happy easter to who ever celebrates it and if you don't, happy 1th april! don't make too rude jokes and don't make people cry!
> 
> okay, so you all are probably wondering "where's harry? why haven't we been introduced to him yet and why is this fic going so slow, it's getting boring" and to that all i have to so is sorry. this is my first fic ever and i'm trying to get the hang of it all. i promise that something will happen in the next chapter.
> 
> i'm having some trouble with it and i keep deleting the draft cause i'm just not happy about what ever i write and i just keep on trying to make it better and it just ends up worse than before. however since this chapter is a bit of a filler i PROMISE with my whole heart that i will post the next chapter soon. maybe in three days.
> 
> until the next time xx
> 
> ps. would you all like if i made a spotify playlist for this fic, like i'd put in every song i've used so far and some others there fits the fanfiction?


	8. feel the fury closing in

_[Ruelle - Madness](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=mMajkf95R0SQLMb3TsxBFA) _

 

 

 

There was a lot of white noise, the ringing in his ears wouldn't stop and it made him uncontrollably dizzy to the brim where he felt like he was gonna throw up all over himself and intensified the nasty headache he had going on, his head was fuzzy and felt like it was filled with cotton. The wind was pushing and pulling him back and forth, and the vicious cold bite from it left him shivering and cold to his core, he wasn't wearing his jacket anymore.

_ Where am I? _

His head was hanging between his shoulders as it felt too heavy to even lift for more than two seconds, a single movement made him feel nauseous. Feet was pounding against the ground all around him as somebody was running around in a circle around him, voices could be heard but he couldn't make sense of what they said as each one wanted to be louder than the next, making sure they were heard loud and clear but it was clear there was a lot of them around him.

As he tried to pull his arms away from his back he found out he was restricted to something, wrists tied together with a rope, there was biting into his tender skin, and would most definitely leave bruises and cuts scattered all over them. He bruise like a peach, just like every omega does.

Louis tried to blink open his eyes but was met with nothing but darkness. Something was tied over his eyes.

He was going to get killed, it was pretty clear that this was gonna be his last breath before he was murdered. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. Louis knew he said it a lot but this time he honestly meant that he regretted every moment in his life there led up to this exact moment.

Where was the wolf? Where was the beast that had attacked him and had stood over him, snarling like a monster with its sharp canines dripping with saliva on to him. None of this made sense to him. Had these people killed it?

All the new scents and pheromones coming from all the people surrounding him was too much and was messing with his head, his inner omega was whining loudly inside of him, circling itself and complaining noisily as it wanted to be heard. It was overwhelming to the point where he wanted to scream. This wasn't meant to happen, the suppressants was supposed to mute all scents around him, this couldn't be possible.

Louis was close to just start ugly sobbing right there from the amount of frustration and fright brewing into a horrendous cocktail inside of him.

Someone was growling loudly and the others decided to join them. It sounded like a thousand of vicious wild dogs ready to attack.

It was deafening.

A chill ran up at his spine and made every hair on his body stand straight.

Louis was going to die. He could either just go with it and look death into his eyes as it was approaching or do everything in his might to get these rope of his wrist and trash around. Fight his way out.

" _ Who is this!? _ "

" _ Does it even matter? He's a danger, probably a rogue or else he wouldn't- _ "

" _ He doesn't look like a rouge to me _ "

" _ He could be dangerous! He could kill our pups! _ "

A sound of agreement was heard and Louis decided that he rather go out with a fight than just roll over on his back like a obeying dog.

The rope felt like fire against his skin as he tried to wiggle it off, probably making the damage a lot worse by yanking his arms towards himself.

"Let me go!" he screamed but it didn't come out as strong as he wanted it to, his hoarse voice and painfully dry throat made it come out as a weak whimper. "I haven't done shit!"

The snarls got so loud to the point where it hurt his ears and his subconscious was begging him to just stop trying.

_ Obey _ .

His inner omega tried to claw its way up to the surface, wanting to be heard and begging him just for once do what it says.

Louis wasn't into that.

The ropes around his hands seemed to tightens every time he moved his wrists just a tiny bit and he was sure they'd started to bleed as he felt a wet slick feeling around them the more he wiggled them around.

_ Obey. It's over. _

No, he couldn't. He had to get away. He had to get home to his dad who was probably worried and sick about him, questioning himself why his only son ran away. He had to get back home.

Suddenly the cloth there was restricting his sight was ripped off him and he was met with a blinding light, he hissed away from it and tried to get away from it as it made his sore eyes feel worse and didn't help his headache one bit. Louis had to close his eyes just for a minute or two trying to adjust to the new light. His left eye gave a painful twitch, there was definitely a black eye there.

How long was he out?

"Fucking shit" he mumbled and squinted his eyes against the light, trying to make sense of the dark silhouette looming over him.

"Hello Louis"

Louis whole body tensed up and his blood ran cold as the familiar voice spoke to him.

He looked up at the standing shadow there was hovering over him, broad shoulders and a pair of beefy arms to match.

Of fucking course.

" _ Liam _ " he venomously spat as the man stepped back from his version so Louis could get a better look at his capture. Warm brown eyes met his own stormy blue ones, a crooked smile painted on his pale pink lips. Looking all smug. Louis wanted to punch him in the throat. 

"Did you do this? Imma fucking kill you"

"Good luck with that, as far as I can see you're a little... tied up at the moment" his cocky smile never faltered as he spoke to the omega. Another alpha walked up to Liam, standing beside him. Looking just as strong and robust, the sinister grin on the stranger's face would probably had worried Louis but all he could think about was Liam in front of him.

"I'm so gonna kill you" he simply repated.

"It isn't the smartest idea to threaten a police officer, innit?"

A animalistic growl came from the blue eyed lad as he spat on the ground in front of Liam. This alpha was no policeman in his eyes, he was nothing but a fraud, a faker and nothing less than a bloody psychopath. He wasn’t in Wiltshire to protect the citizens there but simply find the next victims without getting caught ‘cause of his status in the police department  . Louis should had known it, realised that Liam's stalker tendencies wasn't normal!

Everyone around them snarled back like Louis was gonna attack anytime soon, shoulders tense and legs spread wide in a fight stands. Ready to pounce any gives second.

Couldn't they see that Louis was tied to a pole and couldn't fucking move?!

"What are we going to do with him? It's not like we can keep him here like a mini petting zoo" the man beside Liam asked. The man was shirtless ( _ what the hell, they were in October? _ ) and had sand coloured hair, muscular to the point where it almost looked weird. "Even though he looks very pretty sitting there, a sight for sore eyes some might say"

_ Gross _ .

For the first time since the cloth was pulled off his first Louis got a good look of what he had gotten himself in to. He could briefly see a huge house behind Liam, made entirely of wood like a oversized cabin with more levels than needed, like a huge mansion in the middle of the forest. Other smaller houses was built around it, they reminded a bit of his own house where he'd currently lived, just entirely made of wood.’

Trees was towering over them, so they must have build this small " _ village _ " inside the forest. Or maybe Louis was somewhere out of Wiltshire? He had no idea how long he was out for. It was clear that it was late in the afternoon since the sun was low on the sky ready to leave them behind.

It looked like they were at some kind of square where hundreds of people were surrounding him like he was a one man freak show, women and men, alphas, betas and omegas was all staring at him with such a hatred that if looks could kill Louis would have been death a hundred times already. Children and adults was gathered to see what was going down.

Probably see his public execution, the first since 1964.

There was no way he could escape with so many eyes on him. He was doomed before he even had made an escape plan.

"Well Demian" Liam said to the man beside him. "Personally getting this beta caught was the most stressful thing I ever had to endure"

" _ Let him go! _ "

" _ No he could be a threat for us! _ "

People started to yell and scream their opinions out loud and with each sentence and threats there came from them the fright took over Louis and his blood turned into ice, each suggestion more horrifying than the next and he didn't know if he wanted to throw up or just scream for their mercy.

"Don't kill me" he whimpered, it came more out as a broken whisper and he was sure none of them heard him over their own screaming match they'd going on. They didn't care about his thoughts on the matter.

_ Don't kill me. _

_ Don't kill me. _

_ Don't kill me. _

"We won't kill him, you all know we don't kill without a reason!" Liam yelled, trying to shut up the mass of people around him. He sounded like the only reasonable one in the crowd of anger and fear.

Another alpha came up beside the two men probably to get a better look at the omega, clad in black jeans and a oversized sweater to match, brown hair pushed away from his face so his striking blue eyes met Louis', following each and every single movement he made. A handsome face littered with small freckles.

Everyone around them kept on talking and yelling, throwing curse words towards the omega like there was no tomorrow. Louis scanned over his settings with a scared look in his eyes. Never had he thought it would end up like this, that this was going to be the last thing he was gonna see. Angry, remorseless, inhuman people wanting more than anything to see him dead, bleed out in front of their very eyes like they were back in 1600.

He couldn't breath. The tears started to gather at the corner of his eyes and the blue eyed lad tried to blink them away as quickly as possible to not show weakness in front of all these people. They didn't get to have the pleasure of him being afraid. His palms started to sweat more and more with each second there goes by with the three alphas staying silent, the three alphas sharing a look like they communicated with their eyes.

Probably discussing which way he was going to be fucking executed!

This felt like purgatory. Maybe he was already death and this was what the middle ground was like between hell and heaven.

Louis kicked his legs out making a smaller dust cloud, kicking the sand towards the silent alphas and caught there attention instantly. With a raised eyebrow the man - Demian - took a step closer towards him in all his naked glory looking like he stepped right out of a renaissance painting.

Disgusting that's what it was.

"If you're gonna murder me then do it already, goddamnit" Louis angrily said and kicked his leg out again, silently praying that he actually would had kicked the taller man's kneecap. He would've if he was closer that for sure. "I rather die than sit here suffering for much longer!"

Demian shook his head with a shit eating grin that he could go to hell with. "We aren't going to kill you, we haven't decided yet what we'll have to do with you but I promise you one thing sweetcheeks, it isn't gonna be pleasurable for you" and then he had the nerve to actually wink at him.

He could throw up.

For the second time Louis spat towards them, he didn't see where he was aiming and ended up hitting Demian's shin.

That's what he got from being a worthless excuse of an alpha.

"Eat shit and fucking die, won't ya?" Louis hissed under his breath however knowing damn well the man would hear him loud and clear without any problems by the smug smile there'd been on his face immediately vanished and was replaced with a snarl and a low growl there followed it, eyebrows low on his face and his jaw snapped towards Louis like a wild animal.

"You little shit" he mumbled, ready to pounce Louis and if the alpha and Liam hadn't gripped into his arms and held him back the blue eyed lad would've ended up with a black eye (worse than the one he already had going on) and a split lip. "How dare you, I'll fucking m-"

"Demian!" Liam yelled and interrupted the angry alpha there was close to go on a nasty rant about what he'd do to Louis and how. He rather not get the details of how this Demian character was gonna tore him limb for limb.

"Pull yourself together, you're embarrassing yourself by letting this beta rile you up" the alpha with no name thus far said, forcibly removed the other man away. Demian straightened his back and dusted the invisible dust of him, running his hands down his naked skin like a freak.

He was a freak.

“He’s not worth it anyways” Demian said to himself.

Who even walk around shirtless in October? He was abomination for this society.

However the people around them weren't to thrilled with what Louis just had done, their booming voices grew deafening. Who was he to spit at a higher ranked gender?!

" _ See, he's a threat to our people! _ "

" _ Punish him! _ "

They kept on screaming and Louis started to cowed down like a frighten mouse, he didn't know these people and he certainly didn't know if they would attack him, throw things at him. It felt like he was stuck in the 1600 where omegas like him didn't have any laws to support them, where they could get killed lawfully just by looking at a alpha in a certain way. For all he knew they might still mentally be stuck in the 1600 and live by these inhumane rules!

Suddenly his left arm was hit my a small pebble, scraping him. Louis hissed from the ambush and tried to move away but it was worthless, stuck in place still tied up taken as a hostage against his will. Every human rights were thrown out at the window like it was a piece of garbage that no one cared for.

Someone had thrown a  _ rock _ at him.

He was gonna be stoned to death.

What a way to go.

Another one hit his kneecap, the next his left shoulder. People joined in and before he knew it he was being assaulted everywhere. Each small stone felt like a whip licking his skin, wounding and bruising him with their small and vivacious attacks. They surrounded him, a wild and buzzing mass of anger, loud and disorienting and everyone wanted to hurl in their little stone to be sure it hit him, hurt him.

Never in his life had Louis felt such a pain in his body.

A bloodcurdling scream left his lips before he could stop it from breaking free, begging them to stop and trashing side to side trying to dodge each bullet like throw from them.

" _ Get him! _ "

" _ That's what you get! _ "

Louis sobbed loudly as the taste of blood filled his mouth, he didn't dare to open his eyes afraid that someone would get him there and permanently blind him. Liam and the two alphas was just standing there and not doing anything to stop the public humiliation Louis suffered from, not even battering their eyes as this was a normal thing there occurred.

The omega never felt closer to death before, it was like he staring directly into the grim reaper's eyes as he waited for him. Watching over him ready to harvest his soul and take it with him ten feet under.

Louis would gladly go with him to end his suffering.

"Sto-op" he cried, uselessly trying to get his wrist free to protect himself. " _ Arh _ ! Stop!"

No one listened to him.

His head was starting to grow fuzzy and kept on going back and forth to conscious to unconscious. Blood was dripping down from his eyebrow onto his closed eyelid, he was sure he was covered in his own blood, losing way too much way too fast to be healthy. This is probably what I felt like being shot multiple times without dying, just sitting there and taking each sharp pebble to his body without any way to defend himself.

There he sat on his very deathbed. If there was a place called heaven he was going to see his mum again sooner than he wanted to.

" _ Stop immediately, it's an order! _ " a booming voice yelled out loud and never before had Louis heard it being so quiet before. Not even with a second of hesitation each person shut their mouth as if they just now had a problem with speaking up about their thoughts about the situation. Stopped assaulting him with sharp rocks.

It got so unforgiving quiet Louis could hear the whistling wind in his ears, or maybe it was him trying to catch his breath. Every inhale felt like needles boring into his lungs, his inner omega had quiet down and the only thing there came from it was small and pathetic whimpers. Or maybe it was Louis’ too.

Not a single person breathed in that silent moment, the only thing that could be heard was Louis' rasping intakes and whimpers as he tried to just fucking breathe. He was sitting there like a beaten up rag doll, he didn't dare to move as it might add to the already pain there was soaring inside of him, his ears was ringing and muted out everything around him. Louis wasn't sure why they had stopped but he was sure that the powerful owner of the voice had something to do with it, he couldn't careless just as long as they wouldn't start up again.

The pounding of feet running towards him would normally had Louis look up or flinch away but every muscle in his body simmered with pain.

"Somebody call for the mountain healer!" the yelling echoed painfully in the silence but it finally got the crowd moving, murmurs and groaning could be heard. Louis' eyes fluttered close with a quiet hiss as a hand was put on his bruised shoulder. "The hell was going on here" the person said to itself, suddenly the rope was cut of Louis' wrists and his arms fell limply down besides him and proceed to intensify the aching throb in them but he kept his mouth shut, harshly grinding his teeth to keep the whimper that was dying to break free inside of himself. "Where in the bloody hell is Bitha?!"

Why was this person helping him all of suddenly? He just easily had joined the crowd and helped them with killing him, why decide to help now? Where was he before all this?

Question after question flooded Louis' mind without any answers to them as the second goes by, it could have been minutes - hours before someone spoke up, he wouldn't had noticed. He was too close to fainting and his head was swimming, it felt like his head was held under water and the pressure was finally taking over him. It was too much.

"Who are you, beta?" the deep voice asked, his hand never left his shoulder only flexing his fingers to make sure Louis was probed up against the pole to keep him upright. The omega didn't answer as it took to much of the strength he didn't have inside of him to do so, he just kept breathing harshly as if he couldn't catch his breath.

It sure felt like he couldn't.

"Beta!"

"Yes Alpha" somebody answered him since Louis wasn't gonna do it.

"Name?"

"It's Louis, Alpha. The beta that couldn't get caught"

' _ Alpha _ ' hummed at the answer one of the men gave him, seemingly more understanding of the situation than before.

Louis that couldn't get caught. That was all he was to these monsters.

"And who's responsible for this madness?"

No one answered.

“I said, who is responsible for this!?”

It wasn't long before the pain got too much and Louis drowned in it. He never got the answer either.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Somebody was softly humming an unknown song, it wasn't something he heard before and somehow it sounded like summer and warm days spend laying on the beach as the water licked the shore teasingly and like a hug from something soft, embracing him like a blanket. However it didn't drown out the yelling and roaring going on outside, one particular familiar voice could be heard louder than the rest of them.

Louis opened his eyes with a groan, the never ending headache was pounding against his temple.

Brown ceiling made of wood.

His ceiling was painted white.

Abruptly Louis tried to sit up but two thing happened instantly, firstly the agony of the bruises and wounds on his body made him lay down again and secondly his wrist was tied up. Again.

"Careful love, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself further than what damage there's been done" a soft voice spoke up beside him, all relaxed and cool like. Louis snapped his head towards it and his eyes found a pair of golden brown ones with a few wrinkles at the corner of them showing of her years of smiling, a big smile on her brown lips and thick, black braids tied up in a tousled bun on top of her head. "Take it easy on yourself"

"Wh-ho are you, where am I?" he hurriedly asked, stupidly trying to pull his wrist towards himself again but was restricted. The kind looking lady took his hand his hers and laid it in hers own velvety one, fingers covered in silver rings and nails painted a deep blood red colour. "What is bloody going on?!"

She shushed him and continues humming her little melody, neatly tying a bandage around his wounded hand (without explaining who she was or where Louis was).

Would somebody just answer his questions just for once?

"All done" the yelling hasn't stopped outside but it looked like that the doctor (?) couldn't care less about it, just kept in doing her work. "Just needs to get some alcohol for your smaller open wounds there didn't need to be patched up, hm" she informed.

"Please tell me what is going on, who are you and where am I?!" Louis begged.

A unsure smile was took over her before warm facial expression, she fiddled with her hands awkwardly like she didn't know what to do with them when she wasn't putting badge on someone, or Louis for that sake. She made Louis nervous.

Louis hated being nervous.

"I'm the mountain healer but most people call me by my real name, Tabitha. Nice to finally meet you properly, Louis" she petted his limp hand.

Mountain healer? Was she crazy?

Louis couldn't help himself but roll his eyes at the title, his head reminded him of the ache he had going on and he silently hissed from it. This was going great.

"Don't do that"

"What?"

"Roll your eyes at me young man, didn't your mama raise you better than that, don’t belittle my title" she sassed.

"You don't know me, tell me where I'm at"

She didn't. The  _ fucking _ mountain healer pursed her lips at him with a raised eyebrow like she was his real mum. Kindly fuck off.

What there'd been going on outside finally quiet down, the silence fell over them like a comforting blanket but it wasn't what Louis needed, he wanted answers and he wanted them now!

The house creaked as someone was moving around above them and giving away its old age, Tabitha was still humming that melody as if everything was dandy, moving around the room freely. How Louis envy her for that, it felt like it’s been ages since he's been up and walking around like a free human being instead of the hostage that he now was.

The elderly lady was roaming in a huge, brown leather bag in search of the disinfection alcohol thingy she needed when the door was violently pushed opened and slammed noisily against the opposite wall. Louis flinched away from the loud noise it made which made him groan from the throb that fire up in his tied up arms from pulling them too hard against the ropes.

"Alpha" Tabitha breathed out and held her hand over her heart like she was about to have a heart attack from the scare. "I didn't even hear you coming"

Louis looked over at the newcomer with curious eyes.

Brown, slightly curly hair with one silver, almost white, stripe fading lightly into the brown colour, pushed away from him face and curling around his ear, showing of his moonlight pale skin. Frowned eyebrows hanging low on his face, it looked like it had been there for a long time which created a small crease between his brows and Louis could faintly see a vein popping out at his forehead as if he had yelled for three hours straight and his jaw there kept on clenching and unclenching uncontrollably, red bitten lips set in a straight line showing no emotions at all. What caught Louis' attention was the scar that ran from the corner of the man's right eye and over the bridge of his nose, clearly the wound used to deep since the tissue around the scar was a startling pink colour that wouldn't go unnoticed. However it intensified his bottle green eyes.

Clad in a white  _ silk _ shirt unbuttoned and showing of his toned chest and a black half moon pendant there was hanging around his neck, silver rings on each finger there made him look like a pretentious hipster Louis had seen back in London. A lump grew in Louis throat as the splatter of blood was clearly visible on what looked very expensive shirt.

The man ran a hand through his hair and Louis' eyes followed each move of it. "Sorry Bitha"

Tabitha made an dismissive motion with her hand. "Don't you worry about that. Oh, and look who's finally awake" and then she pointed towards Louis as if he wasn't the only other person in the room.

Those green eyes slowly found Louis' battered body laying in a hospital bed, his facial expression didn't change one bit as he gave the omega a once over. If Louis was in every other situation he probably would've been insecure about how messy and beaten up he looked but he wasn't, he was stuck i a merciless nightmare and was almost killed so he had every right to look like the death.

"Where am I?"

Tabitha chuckled and rounded the bed to get closer to Louis again so she could wipe is wounds with the alcohol wipes she finally had found in her " _ mountain healer _ " bag.

"That's the only thing he's been saying since he woke up" she informed the alpha who was still standing frozen in the doorway, eyes never leaving Louis for one second. Like Louis was gonna make a run for it. Not that he wouldn't if he got the chance but it seemed pretty impossible with two sets of eyes on him and of course, being tied to the fucking bed like he was a lunatic in an asylum.

He just hummed knowledgeable but finally stepped into the room like a normal person would. His boots clicking against the floorboards underneath them as he walked closer to the bed Louis was laying in.

"You're in Wilton, a bit outside of south Wiltshire. But to be exact, you're in our pack house's hospital wing confined to a bed"

His heart rate speeded up, thumping loudly against his chest and could be heard louder than anything in his ears, so loud that Louis was sure he would go deaf from it. His hands started to clench tightly, blunt nails digging into the palms of his hands as hard as possible without Louis even noticing it.

He was where?

"You're taking the piss, aren't you? Wilton?"

The other man stood there with a blank facial expression and didn't move not even a bit, standing there in the middle of the room like a statue.

"Not even close" he answered Louis without a single emotion in her voice.

Fuck.

Abruptly Louis started to kick his legs out and yank his arms like a mad man trying to get free, ignoring the stinging pain in his body protesting, no one was going to release him so he had to do that hard work himself then, he was gonna get out of there even if he depended on his life. Who did these people take him for, they'd tried to kill him earlier. Yesterday? Who cares, he wasn't going to just lay there and wait for death to arrive again.

He had a home to get back to, a job and most important his father. Even though Louis can't tolerate him most of the time he was still in fact, his dad and he was the only on he got left in this sick world.

"Fucking  _ untie _ me already, let me go!" Louis demanded as he violently kicked the duvet of him, it landed on the floor with a soft thud together with a pillow or two. He hadn't even noticed that he was wearing another set of clothes than his own, a pair of baggy shorts and a t-shirt, until his bare legs was hit with a cold breeze. "Let me go home!"

Tabitha quickly got by his side, laying her wrinkly hand on his legs as she tried to pin them down to the mattress. Hands icy cold and a startling contrast against his pale legs there haven't seen the sun for so long.

"Calm down Louis" she begged and grabbed into his right leg but Louis easily kicked her weak hand off of him. "You're gonna open up the wounds again if you keep moving" she had tried to reason but it fell for deaf ears as Louis simply didn't care about his well being.

"Let go of me!"

"Louis, love if you'll calm down-"

"Shut up! Shut up! Let me go home and I won't press charges against you all, I just want to go home!" he yelled and trashed around the bed, throwing a tantrum like a small kid. They weren't gonna listen to him so he had to go to drastic manors. "Fuck you all! Who are you psychos?!"

All of sudden his ankles was grasped into to big hands, harshly pinned down as if it was the easiest thing in the world and Louis hadn't been kicking and screaming at all, and a growled filled out the hospital room and instantly killed Louis' yelling and begging for to be released.

" _ Silence _ beta or I won't hesitate to make you" the alpha snapped at him and Louis cowered down. His inner omega cried as Louis had made the alpha mad. "You'll stay here"

Louis whole body shook with anger and frustration, maybe even a bit out of fright but definitely mostly anger as the stranger continued speaking. The hell he wasn't.

"Fuck you" he hissed back, eyes small and jaw tense.

Tabitha gasped quietly beside the brunette looking back a forth between the two men as the scene unfolded in front of her very eyes, wide eyes and lips parted slightly as she couldn't believe that Louis had spoke to the alpha with such a little respect.

"We can't let you go when you can barely walk let alone support your own body, you'll end up hurting yourself more than if you stayed here 'till you've healed properly" he informed the omega, staring into his eyes with such a determined look that Louis would had broken down and obey under every other situation but this one. He was gonna get out of there.

"The hell I can't, just leave me where you guys took me from"  _ the forest. _ Louis was captured when he was in the forest with Liam and the wolf. Where had that lunatic even went? Probably somewhere with Demian sorrowing over Louis not being dead and jerking each other off with sandpaper like prober freaks.

"Harry can I speak to you for a moment?" Tabitha broke the tense eye contact between them as she spoke up, making Harry look over at her, eyes softening immediately with a... fond look?

Harry, what a posh name. He's probably some stuck up arsehole.

The alpha sighed deeply. "Can't it wait?"

Tabitha shook her head with a light shrug. "It really can't, it's kinda important for all this. Its information you'll need to know immediately Alpha"

"When you're done with your little tea meeting can you untie me?"

"No" Tabitha and Harry spoke at the same time. Screw them. And who the hell calls people by their secondary gender? Louis would be right pissed if someone would call him  _ omega _ on the street, he'd punched them in their eyes for that.

"It'll have to wait for now. I'm gonna have to fix this mess of a situation we're standing in now" Harry ended the conversation there and looked back at Louis with hard green eyes that he'd gotten used to. Louis could already feel the deep hatred he had for this man, thinking he was so above Louis.

"I'll kill you" Louis told him. Louis wants to kill a lot of people there.

"Don't throw empty promises around like that, it'll do no good for you in the end"

The blue eyed boy yanked his legs away from Harry's hand and kicked them before the other man could even react to what Louis' had done. "Let go of me" he spat, a vein had stated to pop out of his forehead as the anger coursed through his body like a lightning. Yet again the alpha growled at the omega like an animal. Tabitha was smart and kept her mouth shut through it all, it was like she was afraid to interfere.

"We can't"

"Yes you can!"

"No"

"Let. Me. Go. Home!"

"How can you be so incredibly dense and stubborn, it must be difficult to be this stupid! The final answer it no"

With a yell out of frustration Louis started to yank his arms again to loosen the ropes around his hands, fuck this! Fuck this Harry person!

" _ Stop _ "

Louis immediately stopped what he was doing at Harry's order.

He used his alpha voice on him.

Breathing harshly through his nose Louis growled like feral animal, eyes turning into a strong icy blue colour there never left the man in front of him who was standing tall and proud with his own scowl to match. Who was he to use his alpha voice on Louis? Who was he to even think that was even remotely close to being anywhere near okay?!

Alphas would normally never use their voices on other people than their children and mates, so what Harry did nothing but piss Louis off further than he already was.

"Don't you  _ ever _ use that voice on me again" he snarled.

Harry simply shrugged as if he had done nothing wrong to begin with. "You gave me no other choice"

Louis shook his head. "Oh don't you give me that bullshit, there's tons of other choices you could've chosen from. How about this one, set me fucking free already and I'll be out of your hair!?"

"We can't"

Louis has had it. If this man wasn't going to give him a good enough reason why they simply couldn't let him go he was going to gnaw off his own bloody hands to get free and go home. It was obvious that they weren't gonna kill him as Harry had saved his ass but for what other reason did they need him?

"Enlighten me why please, alpha"

Without a warning Harry's eyes turned into a dark and familiar colour there reminded Louis of nothing but nightmare induced nights, bloodshed and running. Running for his life more than once. The colour of blood itself, red.

"Because you know too much, Tomlinson"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it didn't take me three days to update but instead two weeks... i'm a liar and can't keep my promises as you can see.
> 
> honestly this chapter was such a bitch and i just couldn't get anything written down. i tried and i tried and each draft was equally as shitty as what i had written before that. guys i rewrote this chapter officially 8 times and i'm still not happy about how this one turned out and i am so sorry. i hope i'll be a bit more proud of the next one which i hope won't take as long as this one. but it's 8382 words soooo.. it's a long boi.
> 
> and the reason it also took so long was because i've been going a lot to the hospital these couple of days. apparently i have a minor prescription drug abuser that i didn't even know of (it's my own medicine i've taken too much of so no need to worry guys) and they basically said that i have to stop taking my medicin for the next two months and i have honestly no idea how my body is gonna react to that. i don't think something dramatic is gonna happen but who knows.
> 
> well enough about that... i really hope you like that chapter even though i don't.
> 
> i made a Spotify playlist!! i'll update it each time a new chapter is out.
> 
>  
> 
> until next time :) xx
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=63nDnfvbQFatZp_2kk82fA


	9. with the moon i run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: graphic(?) scenes where Louis gets hurt. you'll know when it's there xx
> 
>  
> 
> it's one of the shorter ones guys...

_[Kings Of Leon - Closer](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=UScIZxPpQRCHdHCOBKDonw) _

 

__

 

Harry hadn't cared to elaborate what he meant with " _ you know too much _ ", didn't even explain how he knew his last name cause as far as Louis knew he hadn't told anyone his last name. But no, Harry had just turned around and left the room, slammed the door loudly behind him and making the things on the shelves shake in his leave. Left Louis in a shocked state with his thoughts and questions all over the place and with no answers to them. Like always.

That was three days ago.

Three days ago he last saw the sky and felt the ground beneath his feet. Last time he've seen another person beside Tabitha who'd fluttered around the room, checking up with everything and seeing how Louis was holding up (or more like Louis hadn't reopened any of his wounds again), mostly keeping to herself as she was afraid to speak up. She only asked essential things like " _ does it hurt anywhere? _ " and " _ do you need more herbal tea? _ ".

Louis has been drinking a lot of herbal tea these past days, it was they only thing they wanted to give him, besides light meals they offered him three times a day. Louis really fucking hates herbal tea.

Tabitha was the only human contact he had with the world outside of these four walls and she didn't want to speak to him most of the time so to put it lightly, Louis was going crazy and had a constant buzzing feeling running around right beneath his skin there wouldn't go away, like an itch. Like an really annoying itch there wouldn't go away even through how much you scratched it and was digging your nails into it, it was constantly there.

It's been three, maybe more, days since he's last seen his father, no one wanted to inform him how long he’s been here. He couldn't help himself but wonder how Mark was holding up, how he might had handled this whole situation. Was he sitting at home wondering why Louis had ' _ran_ _away_ ’, ripping his hair out with all the unanswered questions he had? Maybe it was a burden lifted off his shoulder, one less problem to worry about? Louis felt like a burden most of the time, he kind of regretted how he's been treating his dad for the last year now that he had some time to think about it, think about everything there's been going on with his life since they'd moved to Wiltshire, even before that when they lived in London. When his mum was alive.

It was raining outside. The clouds was grey and gloomy almost like a thick blanket there absorbed any possibility of sunlight shining through and made everything look darker and eerily depressing outside. Spine chilling in some sort of way. He was sipping that god awful herbal tea as he stared out of the big window with a blank look in his eyes, far away in his own world of jumbled mess that was his thoughts. They didn't even have a television in this room so he could watch something mind numbing and distracting, not even a bloody radio! Didn't these people listen to music?!

With a sigh he closed his eyes and drank some more of the tea, winching at the disgusting taste there filled his mouth. If Louis ever wondered what swamp water mixed with the bitter taste of flowers would've tasted like this was probably it. It had the same nasty colour, a dark puke green one. He didn't even know tea could be green in the first place. Tabitha has switched between a dark red herbal tea there smelled like summer but tasted like satan's sweaty arsehole and this Shrek coloured one that reminded Louis nothing but his deep hatred against herbal tea and everything it stands for. Did he mention he hates herbal tea more than anything in the world? And what good was it for, all Louis knew that the taste wouldn't leave his mouth for hours no matter what he ate or drank afterwards.

The mountain healer (Louis couldn't get over that title, what a stupid name that was) was puttering around the room, dusting off things and checking up with Louis wounds and see if they were in need of new bandages all while she didn't say a word to Louis, straight up ignoring him as if he didn't even exist.

"When are you gonna let me go so can get home?" Louis asked Tabitha annoyedly.

Silence.

It wasn't like he had expected her to finally speak up no, she hadn't before why would she start now?

Louis huffed out a another sigh and blew his fringe up in the process but it lazily flopped down against his forehead and eyes again, he really needed to get it cut or else it would end up growing past his shoulders and it was definitely wasn’t a look Louis into.

"Are you gonna answer me?" he continued asking while eyeing her.

She grabbed a new roll of bandage from her bag and silently walked over to Louis with a small smile painted in her dark plump lips, showing of her perfectly white teeth. It almost looked like her dark complexion glowed against the faint light in the room, petite but strongly built body, wide shoulders and her braids hanging freely down her shoulders today as they swayed with each step she took. Tabitha didn't look older than in her mid thirties.

"Let me see your hand" she commanded but Louis instantly yanked it away from her before she could take it into her own hand. If she wasn't gonna give her answers any time soon Louis wasn't gonna let her help him, easy as that. "Louis, don't be difficult now"

"I'm going to be as difficult as I want to, why aren't you answering my questions?"

The doctor shook her head with a light chuckle and took Louis hand into her own before he could do anything about it, untied the white bandage there was neatly rolled around his hand down to the middle of his arm. The wounds and dark purple and blue bruises hadn't started to faint yet, the damage too severe for it to heal over the course of three days but they looked like they were on their way though, starting to get a faint yellow tint in the edge around them.

As Tabitha replaced the bandage with the new ones she ran her hands soothingly over the wounds of his arm.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled.

Louis looked at her with a confused stare as she turned around to walk back to the chair beside the bed where her leather bag was sat. What was she sorry for, she hadn't done anything but help him these past days. Yeah, she didn't answer his questions but at least she hadn't started to throw stones at him like the rest of these people had done. She hadn't tried to kill him even through the tea she served him tasted like poison. Tabitha seemed like the only decent human here in Wilton.

"Why?" he asked, his eyes following every single one of her movements. Her back was turned towards him. “You haven’t done anything but help me”

"For what you've been through thus far, normally we don't act this...  _ barbarian _ towards new people. I don't know why they did this to you, it's not like them at all" she turned around, her hand was above her heart and Louis could actually tell that she meant every word she said. But it didn't change the fact that he was still laying in a hospital bed, tied up against his will and would have a couple of new scars to his collection on his body because of them. It didn't change anything but it was nice to hear that someone was actually sorry for what Louis' been through. "If Alpha Styles had been there this wouldn't had happened to you, he normally have more control of the pack and knows whenever someone crosses the borders to our pack"

_ Alpha Styles? Pack? _

Louis didn't know what to do with all this new information and words. Pack? What in the world does pack means, only animals have packs as far as Louis knew.

"It is what it is, there isn't much I can do about it. I just wanna go home now and forget this ever happened"  _ if he can. _

"Drink your tea Louis" Tabitha demanded nodding towards the untouched mug, straight up ignoring Louis admiring he wanted to get out of there. Louis groaned loudly. He really doesn't want to. "It's better for you than you might think"

"It taste like cat piss" it was the red herbal tea.

Tabitha laughed deeply and gave Louis the grey mug, standing right beside him to make sure he would actually drink it and not just pretend to. She already knew Louis too damn well.

"Trust me on this one, you'll appreciate it more than you might know, love"

"Yeah, probably not"

He sipped the tea there had gone cold by now. If Louis could just get his hand closer to his face he could pinch his nose and then perhaps he could drown the whole tea in one go without having to taste it but even that wouldn't help, he was lucky that they had given him a little more rope so he could move his arms around a little and lean down to drink the poison like tea. The only snippet of freedom Louis had was when his was escorted to the loo by Tabitha herself, but even in there his wrist tied together so the only thing he could do was pull the shorts down enough. It was the only taste of slight freedom he had for the past three days.

How sad was that?

At least Louis had been able to catch up on the much needed sleep he hadn't gotten for two months since they moved to Wiltshire, he's been sleeping so much that now he just feel restless and over energised. He couldn't keep up with everything there happens around him anymore, if felt like he was sitting inside of a car looking outside of the window to see everything zoom right past him in just a fast pace it just became blurs of colours.

The omega leaned back at the raised and fluffy pillows, closing in his just for a second trying to take everything in.

Had his dad told Stan and Calvin of his disappearance? Maybe he had thought Louis had ran away from home to go back to London? London where nothing probably had changed since he last was there and where the same people he once knew was acting no different. Louis would sell his right arm to go back there, back to his normal life where werewolves didn't exist, where he almost wasn't killed and where everyone - but at the same time no one - knew he was an omega.

His suppressant has probably worn off by now, same with his scent neutralising spray, he was probably stinking up the whole place with his neutral pheromones his body let out mixed with sweat. And a lot of anger too. Everybody definitely already knew that Louis wasn't an beta, they were gonna kill him and this time finishing the job. Louis hoped it was a quick death.

Who knew how these people treats omegas?

The rain outside hadn't stopped, just seemed to get more vicious by the second. It made Louis feel so horribly drained. Tabitha took the now empty mug out of his hand with a small sigh, a frown on her face and what normally was welcoming eyes seemed to look sad and full of regret.

"You'll have to let out all of that anger inside of you soon before it eats you up from the inside, it's not healthy. You have a tainted but bright soul Louis, clean up your conscious and it will set you free" she suddenly said as if she could read Louis' mind like it was and open book laying on the table for her to get lost in. Her hand engulfed his as she softly ran her fingers up and down his open palm, a concentrated look took over her expression. Was she fucking reading his palm now? "There's so much darkness" she murmured, closing her eyes with her eyebrows low on her face. She couldn't be serious about this? First she some bloody mountain healer and now she's a psychic?! This place was a right asylum!

"Get the hell off me" Louis wiggled his pale hand out of hers and yanked it away from Tabitha, she instantly opened her eyes and Louis was going out of his mind. Silver eyes quickly flashed back to their normal brown colour they used to be.

"Louis-"

"No, what the fuck?! You don't even know me, you have the nerve to stand there and say all that bullshit right to my face. Who are you, are you my fucking therapist too now, huh mountain lady?!"

A low growl came from her like some animal, she stumbled back as if Louis had pushed her away. Her hand gripped into the chair behind her, looking at Louis with so much anger in her eyes.

" _ Enough! _ " she yelled out loud shocking them both, Louis jolted by her loud voice and Tabitha's eyes widen as if she wasn't prepared herself that it would come out so loud and commanding. She huffed out a breath and shook her head and oddly reminding of a disappointed mother scolding her child. Louis was the child in this scenario. "Enough, you can yell and scream at me as much as you won't to but one thing I won't just stand by and take is you degrading my title and life. I might not know you but you certainly don't know me either, Louis, remember that before you jump to conclusions and judge people around you"

Louis shrugged half hearted and looked down at his hands, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers as the elderly woman scolded him.

He had no idea what to say or do.

She was right in some sort of way but it was never nice to be told that he was acting like a brat.

"Now that's out in the open, you hungry? I'll whip something up for you real quick if you are?" she asked.

Louis wasn't really famished but it would be nice if she could leave for a moment or two so he could just be by himself and breath, not having the constant feeling for being watch all the time, so he nodded quietly.

Tabitha left the room with no further words and the room grew eerily quiet. The wind was pushing and pulling the trees outside making them sway and dance in the harsh wind, branches hitting the window knocking lightly against it and the rain was pounding against the walls and windows, and making small clicking sounds there could be heard through the room. It was oddly soothing.

Louis could faintly hear someone walking around outside of his room, talking softly so he couldn't make sense of what they were talking about. It seemed like no matter what hour of the day it was someone was always walking around in this huge house and making it creak and groan. It probably needed a change of its floorboards. However after all he was in the hospital wing of the house so it made sense that people was walking all over the place and keeping up with everyone who was there beside Louis. Perhaps they had tried to kill another innocent victim of kidnapping and was also patching them up by now just like Louis.

His eyes was boring into a small dent on the ceiling as it was they only thing out of place in this room. Over the course of the three days he's been there he had made up all sorts of wicked scenarios of why that dent in the ceiling was made and why. Maybe someone had jumped on the bed and ended up jumping too high and smashing their head up on the ceiling, cracked up their skull in the process. Or someone could've played with a tennis ball in here and threw the ball with too much force and made it.

Louis was going out of his mind. He was certainly that he was going to end up dying of boredom before these people would try to kill him again. Who knew that being kidnapped could be this... lonely and boring?

He sighed loudly and threw himself back at the bed with a noisy complaining groan.

Didn't hospital rooms usually have televisions? Louis remembers seeing a small tv in the room for all the times he used to visit his mother when she was hospitalised all those years ago. It felt like that was centuries ago.

Louis shook his head at the morbid thoughts of his mother's death tried to take over his thoughts, he wasn't gonna lay there and be miserable while thinking about his mum. That weren't going to happen.

Suddenly someone knocked on the brown tree door and reeling Louis back to the real world and away from his own mindset of messy thoughts. It was probably just Tabitha with the food.

The door was slowly pushed open.

_ Niall _ .

"Niall?" What the hell was he doing here? He needed to get away! These people was going to hurt him.

Niall awkwardly stepped on his own toes standing in the doorway and looked down at the floor as he seemed to look anywhere else but Louis. The tension grew so thick in the room you could cut it with a knife.

He coughed tensely and scratched his neck. "Uhm, hey Louis"

Louis sat up straight and eyes the other lad with a concerned look in his eyes, trying to just make sense of everything. He couldn't keep up with all this.

"Niall, what are you doing here? You need to get as far away as possible or you'll just end up here beside me! Go back and call after the police!" Louis frantically said as he pulled his arms in the restrains, heartbeat speeding up alarming too fast and made him dizzy with it.

"Louis, you need to calm down. Just listen-" Niall tried to say but was instantly cut off by Louis manically yelling.

“You have to go!”

“Louis if you could just calm down so I can explain mys-”

"Don't you see what they fucking did to me? These people are sick!" finally that made Niall step into the room and closing the door behind him, a frown on his usually happy face. Snarling? Was he growling at Louis?

As he walked closer to Louis he could clearly see the anger on the beta's face that wasn't there before and had completely taken over his normally happy face. He gripped into Louis bruised ankles and squeezed them brutally as if he already knew where every single wound on Louis' body were and where to press down so it would hurt just a little bit more. Louis whimpered pathetically before he could stop it and keep it sealed inside of himself, Niall's icy blue eyes bored into his own as the grip seemed he had on him seemed to tighten as each second goes by.

"These so called 'sick people' are my pack and I won't let you lay there and talk like that about them. Not on my bloody watch. These people are my family!" Niall growled like a animal.

There was that word again. Pack. Why did they all use it like it meant something more than what it was? Did they see themselves like animal? They sure acted like they were.

Louis trashed his legs around, a sharp pain shot up in his legs but he got free from Niall's vicious grab on him.

"What are you on about?" Louis commanded to know.

The beta's facial expression didn't change one bit as he leaned closer towards Louis like lion stalking down its prey before attacking. The scent of dominance oozed out of Niall. What was going on?

Louis tried to pull away but had forgotten that he was restricted to the bed by the ropes around his wrist. This wasn't Niall, the guy he knew from work was this happy go lucky kind of lad that wouldn't hurt a fly but right there it looked like Niall wouldn't regret it if he tore Louis' head of his body and parade it around like a trophy for everyone to see.

"I live here, this is my home. My life" Niall informed him. "And I'm not gonna let some sorry excuse of a beta talk shit like that about my pack".

Beta?

Couldn't Niall smell he was an omega? Was there something wrong with his nose?

"You're one of them?"

"I am"

The door opened for the second time.

Tabitha's loud gasp broke up the intense staring contest there was going on between Niall and Louis. She dropped the plate to the floor and it broke into scattered pieces of white porcelain laying in the ground with food all around it. There goes Louis' dinner.

"Niall! What in the moon's sake are you doing here? You know damn well that Alpha Styles strictly ordered no one was to enter beside me or himself" she yelled and stomped over towards them. She grabbed into Niall's arm, her slim dark fingered giving a powerful contrast against Niall's pale skin colour. "Out now"

Niall opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water as the smaller lady pulled him out of the room with no hesitation or a care what he had to say about the matter.

"I-I... I just-"

"Don't care. Get out now!"

She pushed him outside of the room and closed the door right in his face. The last thing saw of Niall was his shocked face and in any normal situation Louis would've laughed 'till he pissed his pants but he couldn’t even crack up. Why hasn't Niall known he was an omega? The scent blocking spray should have worn out by now so Louis had no way to hide it. It should had hit Niall like a train when he first stepped into his room, especially with his heat so close.

His heat.

Fuck.

Tabitha stepped over the broken shards and walked back to Louis with a concerned look in her soft eyes.

"Are you okay, I had no idea he was here or else I wouldn't had left. I could tell something was wrong so I tried to get done as fast as I could but unfortunately not quick enough. I'm sorry Louis"

Louis shook his head, still in the state of shock. He wasn't sure what was going on anymore and he honestly just wanted to have a cry about it with all the frustration and confusion buzzing around his head, he couldn't fucking keep up anymore.

He felt like he was gonna throw up.

The elderly woman laid her hand on his forehead. It felt nice with her cold hand against his heated skin and it made Louis sigh out loud before he could stop himself.

"Are you alright darling, you're turning a bit pale on me here?" she kindly and quietly asked, running his hand through his unruly hair there was twisted and knotted. Greasy.

No he wasn't alright.

But it comforting what she was doing so he just kept quiet.

"Do you need some more herbal tea? It's great if you need to calm down from this little episode with Niall"

Louis would rather die than drink anymore of that. He would gladly let Niall rip his head off and let him parade it around as long as Louis wouldn't've to suffer through another cup of Tabitha's herbal tea.

"No" he mumbled

"I think you do" Tabitha said around a smile.

"Then why ask?"

"To let you think you had an option and to see if you'll actually say yes so I don't have to force it down in you" she chuckled and sweetly patted his cheek just like his grandma would when he was younger and had asked for another biscuit before handing it to him with a small shush with a finger in front of her lips.

" _ It's our little secret, right little Lou? _ " Louis’ grandma had said with a giggle. Louis hadn't cared she called him little, just munching on the sugar coated treat in his hand.

Louis missed those time where things were easier without anything to worry about than what drawing he had to make for his parents next. Without thinking about what gender he was going to present as in the future.

"Tabitha?" he said, voice hoarse as if he hadn't used it for hours. Maybe he was getting sick?

She hummed a small 'yes' as she turned around with the mig Louis had in the nightstand. She was about to leave the room but Louis was certain that if he didn't ask her this now he wouldn't had asked her at all.

"You know I'm an omega right?"

She stopped walking but didn't turn around to look at the blue eyed lad on the bed.

"I do"

"Then tell me this, how come Niall couldn't tell that I was an omega? As far as I know you haven’t used any scent neutralising sprays on me so"

She turned her head with a disgusted look on her face.

"In the numen's name I would never use that on anyone, that chemical stuff is toxic and will hurt the environment. I would strictly recommend no one to ever use it again if I got the opportunity for it" yeah, he knew that. It just never stopped him once since it was in fact very effective and cheap.

Louis smiled unsurely. That didn't exactly answer his question at all. And what in the hell does numen mean?

Tabitha opened the door and was about to step outside again to fetch him some of that ungodly tea again. Louis wasn't gonna prod for an answer if she wasn't gonna give it to him freely. He was tired of begging and pleading for answers he wasn't gonna get anyways, it just made him look pathetic and Louis wasn't into that in any possible way. He rather not look and sound like and omega more than he already does.

"Oh and Louis?"

The omega looked up at the mountain healer.

"I told that tea was better for you than you might think"

 

 

**_****_ **

  
  


The owls was crying loudly outside, the moon was high on the sky and for the first time that day had the clouds disappeared for once. Stars was shining brightly hanging on the sky away from any city light, it might had been Louis' first time seeing so many of them at once. It was an indescribable sight. He was laying in the dark hospital room wide awake, everyone around him has gone to sleep like any sane person would and it's been over three hours since Tabitha last visit to get him the final check up before she also would go to bed herself. He wasn't sure what they were gonna do with him when he was healed and ready to be set free like a wounded bird. Was they gonna use him as a slave? Kill him?

Maybe they’d start all over again, stone him like they were back in the 1500, nurse him back to health and begin all over again until he would die of some sort of brain damage or someone would throw a rock hard enough it would kill him on the spot.

Louis didn't want to stay here long enough to find out.

He had to get out before anything else happened, he couldn't be here when the first wave of his heat would hit him like a thunderbolt from above.

However as much as Louis had tried to yank and pull his arms the ropes wouldn't loosen up and he was frankly getting tired in his arms, it seemed so hopeless and Louis was close to just give up and let faith take over whatever was going to happen to him. The little flame inside of him was slowly burning out as he looked around the room just for something. A sign from above would even had helped him in that situation, he would even start believing in God themselves if they just wanted to give him a. Bloody. Sign already!

A birds fluttering wings could be heard outside as he flew from one branch to another, how Louis wished he could be a bird. Flying freely and the only worry they had was to find food and find another bird to mate with. Life would be so much easier then.

Louis' eyes fell down to the empty mug on the nightstand Tabitha had forgotten to take with her on her way out, Louis had thought long and hard about what she meant with the whole " _ it's better for you than you might think it is _ " sentence she had spewed out as if Louis was actually smart enough to get what she’d meant with it. The only conclusion he came up with was that Tabitha was a witch and he was cursed and was under some sort of spell.

Which was kind of unlikely.

Wait.

The mug.

They mug could help him.

Louis huffed out loud as he tried to grab the handle of the mug, fingertips grazing it. "C'mon, c'mon" he whispered, concentration clear on his face as his tongue was slipping out at the corner of his mouth. "Almost there"

After ten minutes of trying to get the mug, fingertips grazing it softly he finally got it. Now, how could he break it without making to much noise and waking the whole house, and not have all the shattered pieces on there ground out of his reach?

Louis started to slam it down on the bed but it simply bounced back and landed on his thigh, spilling the rest of the herbal tea on to the duvet and making a little, red wet spot there in the process. Louis could even smell the swamp like stank it had. To even think Louis had drank that made his gag reflex go wild.

Okay plan b.

He grabbed the mug again, slamming it against the metal bars around the bed and instantly breaking it to smaller pieces. Some of it landed on the floor with a loud  _ clunk _ however most of the stayed on the bed as Louis had hoped it would. He could jump up and down from excitement and glee.

If you know, he wasn't tied to a fucking bed.

"Fuck yes"

Thank you whoever is out there looking down on him. Must be some guardian angel.

Without hesitation he picked up one of the bigger pieces of the shards and began trying to cut the rope over on his left wrist. He nicked his own fingers and his palm a couple of time on the sharp shard of the mug, the sleekness of the blood made it slip out of his hand a couple of times so he had to wipe his hands on the white duvet and leaving a long crimson stain on it but Louis was so close to freedom he could almost taste it on the tip of his tongue.

Louis hadn't noticed how long he spend on trying and trying to cut the rope off but when when it finally got free he instantly began untying his other hand with his now free one. This was it!

He could get home!

The blue eyed lad swung his legs over at the edge of the bed and was met with the freezing cold floorboards underneath his bare feet. He'd had to get use to being barefoot for now he didn't know where they had confiscated his old clothes and shoes, Louis was forced to walk outside in the middle of October in gym shorts and a ratty t-shirt fighting against the biting winter.

His legs was weak with each step he took towards the door it was clear that he hadn't used them for days as felt like they were gonna give up right underneath him any given moment, he wasn't gonna give up though even if it meant that he had to crawl his way out of the house.

The door groaned loudly in protest as Louis slowly opened it, he looked outside the long hallway there was lit up by the fluorescent lights to see if anyone has heard the posture of the creaking, old door and the breaking of the mug.

No one was there.

Louis could faintly hear the beeping of a heart monitor from somewhere in one of the other rooms but he hadn't cares to think further into it. He didn't even close the door behind him as he walked down of the hallway in a hope of the exit was there, he couldn't get caught now. Not when he was this close to being fucking out of this madhouse, he'd do everything in his power that he wouldn't get caught. Even if it meant he had to hurt someone, after all they did to him he shouldn't have a problem with a little revenge.

As he got to the end of the hallways he was met with a long and big staircase leading down to god knows where. He had to take the chance with this one. Luckily it wasn't as noisily as the rest of the house and Louis silently walked down. Louis was sure it was easy to get lost in this house with all its twists and turns, it was huge as far as he had seen when he was outside.

At the end of the stairs was a small door, grey and made of heavy cement.

Please don't be locked.

It wasn't.

He pushed it open and the wind pushed his hair back from his face with its force. It was a fire escape.

He was free.

He was free!

Not even thinking twice of where he was Louis started to run towards to forest he could see on his right side. He didn't know where home was but fuck, maybe someone in the next city could help him get home and call the authorities on these people. He didn't care, all he knew was to get as far as away as possible as fast as he could before someone would notice he was gone.

The ground was wet underneath his feet in the aftermath of the rainfall during the day, splashing the rain water from the puddles up on his legs and soaking him, he almost fell once or twice as he speeded away, fortunately it had stopped raining but the wind was still howling in his ears like a beast and biting into his skin in what felt like thousands of ice kisses on his bare legs and arms. Louis couldn't feel any of it as adrenaline kicking in and was pumping through him, giving him that extra spark of energy so he could push through it all.

Trees started to grow closer and closer on each other the further Louis got into the forest, pushing branches away from his way and climbing and jumping over fallen over logs as fast as humanly possible. The bandage had fallen off on his right leg as it had gotten wet, exposing his wounds to the fresh air. Huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath as his burning lungs screamed at him to slow down for a minute so his body could catch up.

If Louis slowed down he was gonna get caught.

He couldn't stop.

Not this close. Not this close to home.

He couldn't just lay in that hospital bed forever and pray that they wouldn't hurt him more than they already had done, he wasn't gonna obey to whatever they had to say because he was afraid of being killed. He had to escape, it was either that or get killed and Louis was sure as hell aren't gonna choose the latter.

Branches from the naked bushes was digging into Louis wounds when he ran to close to them and opened some of them in the process, Louis hissed at the slight pain he felt from it.

"Shit" he whimpered, automatically slowing down.

Somewhere on his left side a howl was heard loud and clear like a cloud free summer day and Louis froze up, a panic Louis never had felt before took over him like a cold embrace.

_ No, no, no, no! _

He had to get away, they knew he was gone.

Immediately he began running towards his right side to get away from the wicked, howling beast. Was it still alive? He thought they'd killed it!

The bloodcurdling night seemed to get eerily darker by each second as Louis ran for his life. Pushing himself to the brim where he felt like he was gonna throw his lungs up any given moment, Louis kept running. It felt like it was the only thing he's been doing for these past days. Running.

The howls got closer and closer, he could faintly hear the snaps of a jaw biting on nothing as if it was excited to bite into Louis and snapping his bones when it caught him.

Louis stopped when the barks and growling suddenly came from his right side towards where he was running toward.

They were more than one.

They were toying with him.

_ Fuck _ .

He had to get away before he was shredded to pieces by these monsters.

His heart was beating fast and painfully against his ribcage and Louis was sure it would burst through it soon if he didn't do something!

"Buggering fuck" he hissed, and started to run deeper into the forest to get away. He had no idea where he was or where he should towards at. This might be the night he dies but he wasn't gonna go down without a fight. Or at least trying to escape. The only safe space Louis could think of was the house but he couldn't turn around and go back, he was out and he wasn't gonna turn around and go back to his bed where he's been tied up to as if he hadn't tried to escape.

Haunting snapping sounds of breaking branches came closer and closer, those was gonna be his bones if they caught him. Paws pounding against the wet forest ground was right behind him.

He tried to force himself into running faster but before he could take a sharp turn something collided with his side, pushing the remaining air out of his desperate lungs. Louis was hit with the thrilling feeling if deja vu as he hit the ground with a loud thump, soaking his back. Without even looking up to see what had hit him with such a force he twisted around trying to get back up on his feet and get away from it. He wasn't gonna turn into dinner today.

A cold paw easily pushed him down again to the ground with its strength and made the omega fall to his hands and knees with a small huff, he was tired and weakened already, his body wasn't meant to use so much strength in such a short amount of time.

"Please" he begged, eyes close in fear of what was going to happen to him. Of that magnificent beast that was standing behind him.

_ I don't wanna die. _

A gush of air hit his neck and something was panting behind him, looming over him and casting a long and dark shadow over him hiding what little light the moon shone upon them. Growling and snarling came from all around him but nothing happened, Louis dug his finger into the moist grass beneath his to ground himself, a whimper was ready to tore itself free from his throat as the vomit inducing smell of blood and raw meat came closer and closer to his nostrils.

_ I don't wanna die. _

_ I don't wanna die. _

_ I don't wanna die. _

Canines bit into the neck of his shirt and pulled Louis back so he fell into his back for the second time, a cold and wet feeling from the moist forest bottom embraced all around him and he got goosebumps all over his body as every little fine hair on his body stood straight up from the unfamiliar sensation. He didn't dare to open his eyes. If they were gonna kill him he rather not see when the first one would bit into his limbs with its sharp teeth and shred him to pieces. He was just laying there ready for the overwhelming pain to take over his body any moment, shaking like a leaf from the freezing wind and with his arms laying limp alongside him. Louis was gonna die and there was nothing he could do about it, he was already mentally saying goodbye.

A cold and wet snout slid across Louis forehead slowly, smearing something it he'd rather not know what was  and Louis opened his eyes for the first time since the ambush. All he could see was dark brown fur there was coated with something dark and matted it on the beast's chest.

"Please don't kill me" Louis begged as if it could understand him, no louder than a whisper afraid that it might startle the wolf above him and it would attack. It wasn't even looking at him though, just standing above him in all its pride with its head raised high and mighty. "Please don't kill me" he repeated desperately with his eyes wide open.

_ I won't. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look who's updating! taaaaaashaaaa (btw, that's my name if y'all was wondering, i'm not using some random name) yaaaaayyyy!!!!
> 
> firstly i wanna thanks everyone who read this story and have patience with my slow ass updates, i'm forever grateful and everyone who takes time out of their daily life and actually write a comment ily and they never fail to make me smile. you're the motivation for me to write and keep on writing new chapters, so yea... thank you.
> 
> secondly this is gonna be a long ass note but whatever. For everyone who has an idea what they'll like to see in the future in the fic or ANYTHING like that don't be afraid to write it, i'm open for anything and i'll personally like some inspiration so speak up. tell me pls.
> 
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> 
> oh i've made an ig if anyone wants to know what i do besides writing chapters. i post fanart there and drawings and shit (i have posted like one drawing but shush). it's @lonely_styles
> 
> slide into my dm ;)))) xx


	10. the devil has come to carry me home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 1

[ _ B lue Saraceno - The River _ ](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=DRZSJFxGSzWL2e7V9wUq-g)

 

 

_ I won't _ .

His blood froze to ice as the a hair-raising feeling took over him within seconds and his jaw kept on unclenching and clenching out of control out of fright as if his own body didn't know if he should whimper pathetically or growl like an feral animal, everything was silent and not a single thing around them dared to move as the deafening steps of someone walked closer and closer towards Louis' cold limp body laying on the wet ground of the dark forest. He wasn't even sure he was breathing in that moment, all he could feel was his rapid heartbeat trying to burst through his chest and run away from the situation, it was pounding loud and clear in his ears and it was a wonder he even heard the slow and deep, like molasses, voice there'd spoke to him from the  _ inside _ of his own head as if it was his own thoughts and fit there. How was that even possible?

The beast above him shifted from one leg to its other repeatedly with its enormous paws beside Louis head, close enough so it could stomp on it, restlessly as he backed away from Louis, soft whining noises came from it as if was a hurt dog trying to get away from oncoming threatening danger there was slowly coming closer towards them, Louis had thought it was himself making those whiny and pleading noises unconsciously. What had scared it enough to make such a submissive noises?

Louis' numb fingers was digging into the mossy grass underneath him with his breath picked up to the state where it almost became panic like, it felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs, the sound of crunching dead and dried leafs and snapping branches found it way closer to Louis and it was so loud it was a wonder it didn't echoed in the whole forest. The blue eyed lad didn't dare to get a glimpse of who, or what, there was walking towards him with unwavering steps, his wet eyes was glued to the black velvet sky above him he could see through the naked crowns of the trees looming over him like they were all staring down at him with their wicked arm like branches trying to reach out to him.

_ Save me _ , he thought and silently wished the trees could hear his thoughts. Reach for him and take him away. Take him home.

But they couldn't, they was just trees.

All around him he could hear the yapping and stomping of the wolves there had surrounded him in a circle, restless as they kept walking back and forth without a purpose. Circling him with their snapping jaws biting the cool air like it was Louis' arms and legs they were sinking their canines into to rip him apart and devour the young omega with their never ending appetite, yapping and growling. It felt like they were playing with him before they ended his life, like they wanted him to get up and try run for his life again just so they could capture him again just for the sake of fun of it like the sick and twisted beasts they was.

Louis knew a trap when he saw one and this one was obvious. Not that he even could get up if he wanted to, the pain in his limbs was burning and Louis had to stop himself from hissing with each breath he took just not to show any weakness. He shouldn't had ran away in the first place, he was safe there. No, scratch that! He shouldn't had walked into the woods of Wiltshire in the first place, perhaps he wouldn't been in this situation.

Surprisingly Louis didn't feel like he was drowning at all like he usually would've in these type of situations (not that Louis had near death situation that often but these last couple of days it felt like a daily routine he suffered from), maybe he'd just mentally accepted that this was it. He was going to die and there was absolutely nothing in Louis' could do about it, it was out of his power and his faith was in these monster's hands... paws. It doesn't matter. Without any warning, a booming howl came from several of the wolves. Their long necks stretched towards the open sky as each one joined the next and it got so loud Louis couldn't help himself but curl up in a fetal position with his hand covering his ears in a hope the deafening howls wouldn't damage his ears.

Fuck, that was loud.

They kept going at it for minutes, maybe hours. Louis couldn't tell but all he knew that when they finally decided to stop howling at the fucking moon there couldn't even been seen he was left with his ears ringing violently and he had to check that they hadn't started to bleed from the loud assault. Fortunately they didn't but all he could here was a ringing white noise there wouldn't go away.

" _ Beta _ " a deep growl of a voice spoke up way closer to Louis than he had anticipated. The young lad flinched away from it and turned towards the man there had spoken. Long, long legs clad in a pair of black jeans with a rip on one of the knees led up a dark green shirt there was mostly covered by a brown fur coat, looked like sheep. Rings upon rings on his fingers reminded him of Tabitha's own ring covered fingers, glowing slightly even in the darkness surrounding them. Louis' blue eyes glided up to the face of the stranger and first now did he notice that the man in front of him wasn't just any stranger.

Harry. Harry with his flashing red eyes there had haunted Louis' dream and terrorised his mind almost from day one since he moves to Wiltshire. Harry with his demanding booming voice he'd make sure wouldn't go unheard by anybody around him. The silver strand in his hair was still a stark contrast to the rest of his dark brown hair on his head, still pushed effortlessly back and with his slim brows pushed down on his face and almost hid his eyes, it was a clear sign that he wasn't exactly thrilled Louis had up and ran away from the ' _ pack _ ' house. The scar running across his face was was still standing out like a lonely cloud on the sky.

Was he here to save him? Again.

A flock of crows screamed at the dark night as they fled away from the trees above them, wings fluttering loudly and wouldn't go unnoticed but Louis didn't look up to see where they decided to escape to. Louis wanted to go with them.

The pregnant silence grew thicker and thicker between them as the second goes by, the alpha and omega stared eerily at each other without any words exchanges between them. He had no idea what to say, in fact he was too scared to say anything so the wolves around them wouldn't notice him again and attack. He'd stay low and quiet until the man standing tall like a tree in front of him would speak up again.

The alpha sighed annoyedly as he rolled his eyes. "Liam" he called out, the wolf there had stood above Louis picked his head up as if he'd said his name.  _ Liam?! _ "Shift, it's an order!"

A sick and vomit inducing sound of cracking bones and joint popping out of their places made Louis immediately twist his head around quick before he could stop himself in the act to see what made such an gruesome and spine chilling noise, he choked on his intake of air with what he was met. Impossible…

“Holy fuck…”

Hunched over standing on its two hind legs tall and mighty, casting a long shadow over Louis. The half human half beast whined as all its bones jumped out of their places and broke, and its fur coat got retracted, Louis didn't dare to blink too afraid he might would've missed something, he hadn't even noticed that he had started to crawl backwards until his back hit something solid and hard, however he didn't look up to see what. Louis knew it wasn't a tree stopping him from crawling further away.

Its snout grew smaller and smaller until it was gone and replaced with human features, a nose, mouth, chin, everything. Paws transformed into big hands and feet and not long after, less than six seconds, was a whole wolf turned into a tall and sturdy human being standing straight and lean. No one else but Liam bloody Payne.  _ Naked _ .

A sight Louis wished he'd never seen.

He must be stuck in some loophole of the Grimm brothers' story or else this wouldn't had been humanly possible for crying out loud. It the only reasonable explanation for this and why it was all happening to Louis.

With a swift movement Louis was pushed forward on his hands and knees again from the legs he was leaned up against, fortunately Louis catch himself before he could land on his face. Liam walked towards them without a care that he was starkers naked on a October night in a forest, it didn't even seemed like he was freezing... his dick didn't look like it was freezing either.

"Alpha Styles" Liam said and kneeled down on one of his knees in front of them as if he was greeting the Queen of England herself. There was that word again, Alpha Styles. What did that even mean?

"Beta Liam" Harry said back with an even voice. Louis looked back and forth between the two men at loss then around them. The other wolves hadn't ' _ shifted _ ' back to their human forms. Still standing proud as animals however not drifting too far away. "I can see you had no problem catching him this time around, even though it took a team of seven of my men to do so" Louis wasn't stupid, he knew that they talked about him but what did they mean with this time? Had it happened before?

"It won't happen again" Liam assured with a curt nod of his head, brown eyes easily finding Louis' own confused blue eyes. Louis could feel Liam's hatred and frustrating in his gaze as his eyes bored into his, bushy eyebrows low on his face and his shoulders tense, muscles going rigid underneath his skin as he quietly snarled at the omega laying on the ground. Fuck him too. Louis had to stop himself from taking a handful of the dirt and throw it in his face just to get his point across that Liam is very much hated too and it wasn't onesided.

A snort came from the clothed alpha and made Louis and Liam break their heated eye contact to look up at Harry who wore a angry smug on his face and his hard eyes directed at Louis. He couldn't help himself to finally get a good look of Harry's face, taking in every details the angry facial expression gave him. Jaw set and lips lifted in a slight snarl, purple bags under his eyes as if hadn't slept for three weeks straight however beside that Louis got nothing else, his face showing no emotions but fury. A closed books locked tight and secure. Unreadable.

"I'll make sure there won't be a next time, he won't escape again. I was too careless" Harry said.

"Don't kill me" Louis mumbled with wide crystal blue eyes.

" _ Fatuus _ , you're starting to sound like a broken record and it frankly getting quite annoying" Harry turned around so his back was facing Louis. The blue eyed lad could tell that he was rolling his eyes at him for the second time that night. "I've already told you I won't kill you and yet you just keep on repeating the same word again and again, I know you know other words and sentences than that"

How about fuck you, go to hell?!

Of course Louis didn't voice any of his thoughts, he didn't trust Harry's promise one bit and the alpha could lash out of anger and actually kill him if he told him to screw himself, even though Louis really wanted to. So bad. Or even let his hordes of bloody werewolves murder him. Who knows, Harry might get creative with it.

A shudder went through Louis just by the bare thought of being killed by Harry's hands.

The freezing weather tousled his hair in a teasing manner, harsh enough so it almost brought tears to Louis' eyes from its brutal wind. With everything happening around him he hadn't noticed the weather had dropped drastically, his finger was painfully pricking from the cold as well as his feet there was digging into the mud, the fact that he was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a t-shirt did nothing to help him fight against the gist of wind.

You could practically taste the winter waiting around the corner with its thick blankets of unforgiving snow and ice, and it's short and dark days.

"I.... Just let me go home, I'm not asking you for much. I won't even tell a soul about what'd happen!" Louis pleaded with his eyes on the ground.

"No" was all he got from Harry. "It's not a risk I'm willing to take", he hadn't even turned around to look at Louis. Just stood there with his broad back facing Louis without an ounce of respect for the omega.

"That's a shit excuse and you know it! It's not about bloody risks, it's about me being stripped of my human rights! I know it must be hard for monsters like you to understand the concept of it, after all for all I know your ' _ pack _ ', your people keep blabbering about, might not even be fucking humans! So how about you start being a decent whatever you are and let me go so I can fucking go home already!" Louis screamed with the little strength he had left in his petite body filled to the brim with anger, frustration and so much confusion towards everything around him.

_ Too much, you went too far and now you can't reach the bottom anymore. _

His inner omega came back from where it had been hiding all this time to yell at him for going off on an alpha. Clawing and whining at him to pull his shit together before they got hurt.

The popping and cracking of Harry's neck as he slowly stretched the kinks brought Louis back to reality, his blue eyes never left the alpha as he shook his head and it almost looked like his shoulders got a bit wider as he straightened up.

"Very well" the alpha mumbled.

Harry pulled something up from his pocket and threw it at Liam's feet with a exhausted huff. 

A long piece of rope.

"Tie his hands together or whatever, it's too late for this kind of exchange and I for one, just wanna go home and sleep" Harry made a dismissive signal with his hand as he started to walk back to the small crowd of wolves there'd gathered behind of them to curiously listen to what the man had to say. "Don't let him get away"

_ No! _

As Louis was about to turn around and make a run for it deeper into the forest two hands tightly gripped his wrist, two exceptional warm and big hands covered in dirt and mud. Liam.

"Not so fast beta"

He pulled Louis up from the ground and swiftly tied his hand together with a blink of an eye, like he was a prisoner in cuffs ready to be taken to jail. It wasn't far from the truth to be honest.

"Let go of me!" Louis tugged at the biting rope around his hands and tried to yank himself free from Liam's remorseless hold of him. "Fucking... Let go of me you fucking prick! What do you want from me?" he frustrated cried loudly, his already sore wrist soaring and trooping with pain as he tried to wiggle them free.

So close to freedom and getting away and then his escape plan failed miserably.

The wolves around them was yapping and howling at Louis as Liam pulled him towards Harry who was standing silently, running around them in a circle like they were happy with Louis' misery and they'd caught him for the second time. They oddly reminded Louis of puppies playing around but he knew better, they were nothing but dangerous monsters.

He wanted nothing but to sit down and have a cry about it. Scream and throw things around him like a tornado passing by, he was so tired. The little omega inside of him didn't help much, all it did was complain about Louis being a failure.

He was always a failure.

Shaking with anger and irritation Louis kept on digging his heels into the slippery mud as Liam dragged him further away towards Harry, almost falling over twice from the process. He wasn't gonna stop trying, heavens no. If he was going to die this way he was going to go out with his dignity intact and say that he at least fucking tried to get away.

"Hey!" Louis yelled out when he tripped for the third time. "How about you stop pulling my hands like I'm a dog on a leash, yeah?!"

"How about you just stop trying get away? You've been caught, just give up already" Liam spat back and pulled the rope just to be a pain in the arse and emphasise his words.

Louis kicked some of the mud in Liam and it collided on his skin with a wet slap. He deserved it and damn, it felt so good.

"What a child" Louis turned his head towards Harry who had mumbled the words towards them. Suddenly he ripped the rope out of Liam's hands. "Go back with the others, I got this under control" he demanded. Liam nodded without hesitation, ran back to the other wolves there had stayed behind. The familiar sound of snapping bones came back from behind him and Louis instantly knew that Liam had turned back to the beast of a wolf, howling loudly for the second time. From both of his sides the wolves began to ran towards their village, it was clear that whatever they were was a lot bigger than a regular wolf Louis had seen on tv and at the zoo, standing big and mighty, and their backs easily reached Louis' shoulder. All different colours, from a light grey to a dark brown. If Louis hadn't known what these monsters did to innocent civilians in Wiltshire he might have been in awe by all of them but no, they were nothing but killers hunting for their next meal.

What Louis hadn't caught up on was that when the last wolf disappeared between the thick trunks of the trees he was officially alone with Harry, in a forest.

Where no one could him hear him scream.

Fuck.

"C'mon" Harry mumbled as he tugged the rope to make Louis start walking again and broke the turmoil he had going on inside of himself. "I don't have all night"

"You could let me go and we wouldn't have this problem to begin with" Louis assured which earned him a hard yank and a irritated groan from the alpha beside him. "I'm just saying"

"I feel like I do nothing but repeating myself with you"  _ then let me go. _

They began to walk further into the woods, ducking branches and stepping over fallen logs on their path, silently. Not a word was exchanged between them and all there could be heard was Louis' huffing and groaning as the pain in his whole body was slowly sinking in since the adrenaline had left his body, stumbling over his own two feet like a baby deer on ice, meanwhile Harry kept tugging and fucking tugging at the rope trying to make him speed up his slow limping pace, clearly not having any of this and just wanting to go home.

The cold was slowly sinking into Louis bones and leaving him shaking and his teeth chattering, there was nothing he could do trying to keep himself warm against the brutal and merciless wind was ripping into him. He missed his bed and his duvet, generally something warm and where the freezing cold wind couldn't touch him. The ripped t-shirt was useless and a mud clinging onto it didn't help either. A fucking bath would do wonders now.

His clapping teeth was loud and echoed inside of his own skull as Louis tried to clench his jaw painfully to make it stop but it was a impossible task. He didn't know how far he'd run and how far he'd gotten into the forest, Louis hasn't cared for looking at his surroundings as he'd tried to escape, for all he knew it could take hours before they came back to the house. Without a doubt he'd freeze to death before they got there, if only he could fucking walk faster without his legs giving up from the pain it would cause him!

"Stop" Harry suddenly said. Louis stopped walking and looked at him with wide eyes, Harry turned around with a roll of his eyes as he shimmied the brown fur coat of his shoulders and was left standing in a white t-shirt and black jean. "How stupid do you have to be to run around with barely any clothing on?" he mumbled as he walked towards Louis, and the same time tugging Louis closer towards himself with the rope, with the coat in his hands. Harry murmured something quietly afterward however the wind drowned it out with its whip like gusts. Louis didn't need to be a genius to know it was probably something offensive and rude, and probably for the best he didn't heard it.

"You guys were the one to confiscate my own clothes in the first place" Louis pointed out knowingly. He misses his jeans.

Harry swung the coat around Louis shoulders and it felt like a warm embrace from a bear, perhaps this is what it must have felt like cuddling a bear. Soft and warm.

The coat instantly heated Louis' frozen body up and Louis had to stop himself from burying his face into it, he could feel Harry's eyes on him and he didn't deserve a thank you or the pleasure of seeing harry cuddle into his jacket.

Over his death body.

"We had to get you out of them. Beth couldn't get to any of your open wounds with them on" Harry informed. “And they was as good as gone anyways, would not had helped you against this weather whether you wore those rags or these ones”

It was clear the topic was to be dropped as Harry turned around without any further ado and pulled at the rope in a sign he wanted Louis start walking again. Louis had questions! Where was he clothes? And was there a possibility that he could get them back so he could get out of these racks?

Alright then.

Small pebbles dug into Louis' bare feet as they kept walking but after 20 minutes or so their pack house could be seen between the trunks of the trees, faintly lighting up a small path towards them and leading deeper into the forest, Louis wished he'd seen it before he'd started to run in a random direction. Maybe he would've gotten away then.

_ No you wouldn't had. You're an omega! You can't outrun a group of alphas even if you'd wanted to. _

Louis bit the inside of his cheek to stop the inner monologue there was telling nothing but the truth, if his hands had been free he would've pinched his thighs painfully to make it stop but this would have to do for now.

For the second time Louis had seen the village from somewhere besides his window, this time only a few people were gathered to see and bask in Louis' failure of an escape. He could only see around ten people or so which was a nice change from where he'd been the last time. Tied to a pole ready to bloody die.

" _ Louis! _ " a loud, loud, loud voice yelled his name and made him snap his head towards where it came from. Tabitha was pushing people out of the way and even in the dark it seemed like she was glowing, he could even faintly hear her pearl necklace clattering against each other as she ran towards her with frowned eyebrows and a look in her eyes Louis wasn't sure what meant. "Louis,  _ faatus _ !"

When Tabitha reached him she laid both her hands on his cheeks turning his head side to side like a mother would to check if their child was okay after they'd fallen.

"For the moon's sake, where did the idea come to you that it was a good idea to run in that state?!" her hand slide down to his shoulders as she looked into his own blue eyes. Why did she care? She was nothing but a doctor to him so it made no sense she even would care that Louis had ran away, one less to take care of, right?

He shrugged his shoulder and looked down at the ground at his dirty and covered in mud feet. "I wanted to go home"

"And see where that ended for you" Harry said.

"Alpha Styles!" Tabitha hissed as she shook her head.

  
  


**_****_ **

  
  


Louis was back in the hospital wing of the house, same room, same bed (now with clean sheets but still love king the exact same as he’d left it) and same window directed towards the forest of no good. Same lonely and cold room where Tabitha's soft humming was the only thing filling out the silence as she made sure Louis hadn't hurt himself any further with his little stunt he'd tried pulling in an attempt of escaping. The sun was high on the sky, not that you could see it by how the thick cloud glided in front of it and basked the ground in a cold light and not letting any of the sunshine through them. It was as depressing as any other day that it had been here.

There was a nagging feeling deep within inside of Louis, a dark and sorrowful one.

He was giving up.

It was pretty fucking clear that he wasn't gonna get out of there on his own terms any time soon, all he could do was lay down in this bed and wait for their decision of what they were gonna do with him. He had no say in it but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that it would end up being something painful just from the look of the history of how they'd treated Louis so far. He had no idea what was in store for him.

It was so quiet. Like a welcoming grave.

Don't get him wrong Louis usually liked the silence, no voices trying to speak over each other trying to make sure they was heard. But he's a city boy by heart, born and raised in London where even how quiet the streets could get there was always a car honking blaring in the distance or some drunk teenager roaming the street singing loudly at the top of their lungs without a care in the world they were disturbing anyone around them, even though he'd lived in Wiltshire for little over a month he hadn't gotten used to the fucking quietness of everything around there. You could hear a pin drop.

His thoughts get louder too whenever there wasn't something to drown them out.

Not even Tabitha softly humming some unknown melody could make them shut up for a moment just to give him some peace.

Peace, what an foreign concept that was.

Harry hadn't returned since he gave the cuff like ropes to Tabitha, demanding her to get him back to the room he was assigned,  _ I don't have time for his childish behaviour right now  _ he had grumbled and had turned around without Tabitha's opinion on anything. She had brought him back to the hospital room, not a word was exchanged between. Oddly she hadn't tied his hands together like the last time, it felt like she could sense he wasn't gonna make a run for it again. He didn't have the energy in him anymore for it. All he could do was stare at the opposite wall with a blank stare meanwhile his mind was slowly eating him up from the inside with all its loud thoughts and internal screaming.

He hadn't stopped pinching his inner thigh since he'd woken up, his pointer finger and thumb just kept going at it unconsciously and relentlessly, finding a new spot when he could feel the bruise was starting to take form.

This was something he could control.

"Louis? Darling, are you hungry?" Tabitha said softly as she walked to the end of the bed with a concern look in her eyes.

He wasn't hungry. He wanted to go home.

He shook his head and the feathered fringe covered his eyes in the process.

"Thirsty?" she then asked.

Louis shook his head again.

Tabitha sighed loudly as she walked back to stand beside Louis. She took her hand and her dark complexion was a stark contrast to his, Louis could see he was turning into a sickly Snow White pale colour from the lack of sun on his skin. It wasn't long before he'll turn fucking transparent.

"Don't starve yourself"

"I swear I’m not, just not hungry" he assured.

_ I wanna go home. _

Jesus, he  _ was _ starting to sound like a broken record. But could anyone really blame him?

"Louis..." she began but stopped herself when Louis glared at her with his eyes telling her to drop it. "I... I just worry about you. Your light-"

_ Now she's beginning with that lunatic spewing bullshit again. _

Louis rolled his eyes as he turned his head away from Tabitha so she couldn't see it, but that woman was all knowing.

She slapped his shoulder gently. "Don't you roll your eyes at me young omega"

_ Young omega. _

"Don't call me that" he hissed and turned around to lay at his side away from her, angrily staring at the wall. If he glares hard enough hopefully this whole building would burn down from it.

"You don’t want me to call you omega?" She asked dumbly like she didn't already knew that Louis had a problem with his secondary gender. She could read him like an open book laying on the table ready for her to get lost in with all his secrets on display.

She must've been a witch.

"Yeah" he mumbled and pulled the pillow closer to his face so his words came out slurred. "Don't call me that"

It would've been easier if she also thought Louis was an beta.

Just like everyone seemed to does here.

Which is... fucked up?

"If that's what you reall-"

"Why haven't you told anyone I'm an omega? Not even your precious Alpha Styles or whatever you guys seem to call him all the time" he interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me"

Tabitha shook her head at the disrespectful omega but with a little small on her lips like she knew something Louis didn't.

"Listen" she took his hand again. It was warm against his own freezing one. When they had gotten back from the forest it felt like Louis just couldn't get any of his body heat back, he was still cold. "First of all, don't talk like that about our Alpha. You don't see me walking around talking about your mama like that, do you?" my mum was not a psychotic man being a leader of a cult they call a pack but whatever. "And secondly, it's not my story to share"

What?

She couldn't be serious. If it had been anyone else being his doctor of this village they wouldn't had hesitated to run of to their leader spilling Louis' secret like it was tea so why doesn't Tabitha do so? He had been nothing but rude to her, Louis doesn’t deserve it.

Tabitha belly chuckle ripped him out of his own thoughts. "You seem a bit dumbfounded, love"

He huffed with his arms crossed across his torso. "Excuse me if I don't find that believable enough"

"And why so? Have I personally done anything to you so you can’t trust me?"

She hadn't.

Tabitha was the only one who cared about him in Wilton, the only one who had patched him up and probably wouldn't've a problem with Louis walking right out of there and back home.

"I just don't understand why" Louis said confusion lazed in his voice.

"Louis, there isn't really much to understand here. It's actually quite simple if you just wanted to understand" she assured with a warm smile and her kind eyes. "I just thought there might have been a reason why you body was doused in scent neutraliser and you've been drugging yourself with suppressant for who knows how long, there isn't really more to it. You've been hiding it for a reason before you came here and it shouldn't be ruined by some unfortunate events happening to you"

He hadn't been hiding it for any reason but by how unfair it felt that he’d apparently turned out to be an omega when mostly all of his friends back from high school presented either as betas or alphas. It was for his own egoistical ways so he could be a beta just for a short period of time. So he could be normal for once.

But besides that it was... really kind of Tabitha hiding his identity for now.

"Uhm, thanks?" Louis mumbled unsure and awkwardly scratched his neck as he tried to look anywhere but Tabitha which she found quite amusing. Of course she would.

"You're absolutely welcome"

They grew quiet again but this time around there wasn’t a thick and awkward tension to it like there had been the whole day since Tabitha woke him up shaking his shoulders softly, it felt more like a welcoming silence for once. One that Louis wouldn’t mind for one bit.

It was nice.

Tabitha was sitting on a old and hideous green velvet chair with a pair of slim framed glasses sitting on her nose as she was reading some old book with a black cover without a title on it, minding her own business as Louis just laid back with his eyes closed and enjoyed the quietness in his head for once, his thought finally staying silent for more than a second. He was not thinking about a single thing and Tabitha’s fingers tapping the hardcover of the book filled out all his senses in an oddly comforting way.

But nothing was ever just  _ nice _ around here, nothing could be peaceful in Louis’ world just for a single minute and certainly nothing could go his way.

It was the silence before the storm.

It always was.

Stumping could be heard just outside of the door in the corridor of the hospital wing, loud voices was speaking but Louis couldn’t make sense of the words there was spoken, muffled by the wall. What was going on?

Abruptly the door swung open so hard and so quick that it was a wonder it didn’t break off of the hinges, literally slamming against the wall with a loud thump. Louis’ head snapped towards the two men standing in the doorway, they had changed their clothes since the escapade there’d happen in the forest. Or at least Liam was wearing clothes now.

“Harry” Tabitha gasped as the book fell out of her hands in the shock of the loud noise. Louis didn’t even jump by the loud noise. He had gotten used to it by now. “What’s going on?”

“Change of plans, Louis’ll be transferred to another room” Harry’s eyes ( _ so fucking green _ ) was boring into his with such a determination.

What?

“No” Louis said.

“Louis-“ Tabitha began but was cut off by the angry alpha standing in the doorway.

“No? Why do you think you have any say in this?”

Louis shrugged but didn’t lose the eye contact he had going on with Harry. “Because I won’t. I’m not healed up properly yet” _ and because Tabitha is here and she might be the only sane person here even with her voodoo nonsenses she keeps talking about. _

Of course Louis didn’t voice his thoughts, he knew that wouldn’t do him any good and Tabitha would probably think it’s very offensive to her.

“It’s clear that you don’t need to be taken care of anymore as you had no problems with running away in the middle of the night, you’ll be escorted to your new assigned room later today” the green eyed alpha said with a smirk slowly taking place on his lips as he kept on speaking. “You don’t got a choice in this Louis, I’ve already made up my decision” as he was about to turn around with his little slave (Liam) by his side Louis let out a high growl and made him stop walking instantly.

_ Stop that! _ , his inner omega screamed but when did Louis ever listen to it, or anyone for that matter?

“Fuck. You” he spat. He sat up straight in the bed, shoulders wide and hands clenching and his unclenching into fist as he tries to get his anger under control. “Fuck you Harry”

Silently Harry turned around with a lifted eyebrow. “What did you say?” he said as if he hadn’t heard Louis’ words loud and clear with his sharp hearing that alpha’s had. Louis knew that Harry was trying to give him a chance to just shut up and get out of the situation unharmed and his ego bruised. Louis wasn’t one to play coy though.

“Did I stutter? Fuck you, you fucking psychotic cunt! You’re nothing but a sick scum of a monster, if you even have tiny bit of a heart you would’ve let me go before this escalated. Set me free and I won’t tell the authorities about your little cult you guys had going on out here” he yelled, spit flying out of his mouth but he couldn’t care less. He was gonna get home some way or another. On his. Bloody. Terms!

“Louis...” Tabitha spoke but was silenced as Harry held his hand up to make her shut her mouth. Like he had some hand over her and was controlling her like she was a little robot. It was sick to watch how much control he had over these brainwashed people.

Harry finally stepped into the room, his boots heels making a deafening sound as he walked up to the foot of the hospital bed Louis was laying on. The black long sleeved shirt was tight across his chest and the necklace swinging back and forth like a grandfather clock ticking and ticking. Eyes flashing that nightmare inducing red colour before turning back to their normal colour.

“Louis, Louis, Louis” his hand gripped the white metal banner around the bed, knuckles turning into a chalk white colour with how tight his grip was. He was sure it would leave a dent when he’d finally let go of it. “You wanna go home so bad, right?”

“Don't act stupid all of suddenly, of course”

“You want to go back to your daily life and forget about this, wanna go back to your father. What’s his name... Mark, innit?”

How does he know my fathers name?!

Louis back straightened. “You leave him out of this, he doesn’t deserve any of this!”

A dark rumble of a sinister chuckle left Harry’s mouth showing of his row of white teeth, Louis was sure that his laugh wouldn’t leave his mind for days. It was like it was straight out of a horror movie.

“I don’t like when people disrespect my pack, do you understand that?” Louis didn’t answer. “I said, do you  _ understand _ that  _ beta _ ?!”

“Yes, I understand”

“Good, leave my pack out of this and I’ll leave your precious father out of it too” he turned around again to leave to room. “Bitha make sure he’s ready to be transferred to the new room by early evening” Tabitha nodded even though Harry couldn’t see her do it.

I hate you.

“I hate you” Louis voiced his thoughts before he could stop himself.

“The feeling is very much mutual, beta. Glad we discussed it” Harry said with his back turned to Louis and with that he slammed the door, the room eerily quiet.

Louis screamed so loud and heart wrenching and made sure it would leave his throat sore and it would feel like he could taste his own blood in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this chapter was oddly easy for me to write even though the end is a bit hurried... let's just hope that the next one will be as easy to write as this one was.
> 
> guess who's back, back again. Niall is back, tell a friend!
> 
> he's a weird little fella ;)
> 
> i don't have much to say this time around (at, first time I don't write a long boring note, eh?) than i hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D xx


	11. hands just as ice

_[Ryan Adams - Voices](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=-zsx_JEoS4OrqJ2aIbG3sw) _

 

 

 

Four days ago Louis was escorted to the new room.

Louis was transferred to his "cell room" as he preferred to call it ( _ and which it fucking was _ ), while he was kicking and screaming for the two sturdy men to let him go already  _ goddamnit _ while he was lifted a good few inches above the ground without any problems whatsoever by them like he was some useless rag doll, trying to yank his arms out of the bruising tight grip the two men had on him, kicking his legs and hopefully he'd hit one of them to loosen the hold so he could get away. Liam and Demian, fucking pricks they were.

Even if Louis actually escaped from their merciless grip they had on him where was he to run off to? He had no idea where he was in the maze of a house as he had cared to get a good look at his surroundings while they'd pulled him through the ancient and gothic house without his consent.

More like mansion.

Harry wasn't to be seen and hadn't probably cared enough to oversee the process of the whole ordeal. Tabitha had followed them on her short legs a bit behind them trying to keep up with beefcake number one and two, a worried look permanent in her dark and soulful eyes as she'd kept in mumbling words under her breath Louis couldn't hear over his own yelling and screaming bloody murder.

It sounded awfully a lot like she was praying.

It's been four days since he's seen Tabitha. Hell, it's been four days since he's seen anyone besides the small beta with sand coloured hair and narrow shoulders, with his eyes always directing down to the floorboards as if he was to scared to look up at Louis for even a second, who silently comes into the even smaller bedroom with a small plate of food every morning, afternoon and evening there'd end up untouched and uneaten in protest, and a tall glass of water Louis would drink. Always locking the door behind in a soft  _ click _ there seemed ten thousand times deafening in the quietness of the room.

How long could someone survive on only drinking water?

The prison like room was nothing but a one man bed and a nightstand with a golden lamp on it, illuminating the room in a subtle glow whenever it was turned on (which happened once), and en suite bathroom there was a size of a shoebox if not smaller than that. Walls were a dark brown colour there made the room seem tinier than it already was and one small window there couldn't open no matter how much you tried yanking and pushing it, but where Louis spend most of his days sitting in the window frame looking with sorrowful eyes, outside at all the free people walking around without a care in the world. Not even a single picture hung on the walls to give it a bit warmth and feeling, it was just bland, boring and it had a cold and unwelcoming feeling to it. Like it was meant to make you feel absolutely nothing at all.

It's been four days since Louis has spoken to another soul. He wasn't even sure his vocal chords was working anymore after he had screamed his lungs raw, the taste of blood seemed permanent in his mouth, no matter how much water he'd drank trying to wash the horrendous taste away from his tongue.

Four long never ending days.

There wasn't a clock on any of the walls, for all he knew days could be weeks he’s been in the room. Each second felt like minutes, minutes like hours and hours like days, everything just started to blend together by day two. Maybe he should start carving small lines into the wall to mark how many days he's been locked up and been held captivated against his will. The only way Louis kept a count of how many days he's been in there was whenever the sun came up from behind the trees there was surrounding the village.

The void in the room made his thoughts seem louder.

Louis was going insane with the deafening silence.

His forehead was leaning on his bend knees as his arms was circling around his legs, eyes closed and eyelids heavy from his restless sleep. His hair was greasy and hanging limply and mattered across his forehead and eyes, he wasn't sure when was the last time he'd taken shower, didn't have the strength to it. So tired and so weak all the  _ fucking  _ time no matter how much he slept away the days.

The solitary silence was suffering and it felt like it was choking Louis.

With his blunt and bitten raw fingernails digging into his shin he finally decided to open his eyes with a loud sigh escaping his lips, raising his head and hitting to window frame with a small thud. The trees outside was swaying in the wind, Louis could faintly hear bird chirping and people talking loudly outside. Rain tapping on the window as if it was asking to be let in, Louis gladly would if he only could open the bloody fucking window.

Feel the cold rain upon his skin and engulfing him in a familiar embrace, he would literally sit in a snowstorm for two hours butt naked just to feel anything but the loneliness there was slowly eating him up from within.

Louis would do everything just to stop thinking.

Louis felt like it's been thinking awfully a lot these past couple of days and it was definitely taking a toll on him, generally about what's happening back in the house, his home. His father, his friends, hell even about Anne-Louise and and her honest to god weird daughter, Karen. Was they even trying to search for him back at Wiltshire or have they already given up and lost hope, or was they now trying to find his body instead? How was Mark handling all this, first he loses his mate and now Louis, his only son, the only thing he had left. His world must been crumpling down upon him with each family members leaving him behind.

Or maybe he didn’t care? One less problem to deal with.

And had anyone told Stan and Calvin about his disappearance or was they obviously to what had happened? Maybe they didn't care anymore either since Louis wasn't in their life anymore?

Louis had all this questions running around inside of his head but yet, they'd no answers to them. It was eating him up from the inside, it was maddening. Every every hour, every minute, every second he wanted to rip his own fucking hair out of his own scalp and scream and slam his head against the wall repeatedly just to knock some sense into himself. All he wanted was some answers and none of these people was giving him any!

It really felt like he kept repeating himself like some goddamn broken record no one wanted to repair and was left to collect dust in the attic. God, he really was slowly going insane. Maybe that was their plan all along to begin with, lock Louis inside of an half empty room with no possibility of communication of any form from the outside world and let his own weak omega mind do the rest of the dirty job and tear itself apart day by day.

Omegas wasn't really known to cope well with being alone over longer period of time, their mind wasn't made to handle the loneliness and communication deprivation as they mentally always was seeking for attention and approval for how good they were being by their superior, the alpha, even though they don't usually notices it themselves most of the time. No matter how much Louis tried to deny the fact that he needed someone, his basic omega instincts and how much he loved to be in his own company he knew from deep down inside his inner omega, as most people referred to, couldn't be alone for much longer without something drastic would've happened.

And the sweating hot waves there kept going through him every now and then for these past seven hours hadn't helped him with his case either.

"Fuck" he grind his teeth together noisily, shaking as a drop of sweat ran down his temple. "Fuck! Make it stop" Louis whimpered hoarsely into the void in the room and unconsciously tried to fold himself together, disappear just for a moment.

His heat was so close.

_ No _ .

He could practically already smell his own pheromones oozing out of his body unforgiving and stinking up the whole room.

_ No _ .

It felt like his body was taking its revenge on him for how long had taken his heat suppressant and it was all catching up on him, his week through hell was knocking on the door was gonna let itself in whether he wanted it or not.

_ Not now! _

Louis chewed his lip raw and bloody trying to keep the broken sobbing whimpers inside of himself, nails digging small half moon shapes into his exposed shins and almost breaking the skin in the process as he leaned against the cold window as if it would help him one bit. Not even that could cool his overheated body down and it was a wonder steam wasn't coming from his body from how hot he felt. His biology was slowly taking over him inch by inch and it wouldn't be for much longer before his body and mindset would be submerged into the painfully state of animalistic primal instincts and the never ending lust for another person to use him as they pleased.

It was all a matter of time.

The omega wasn't sure how long he sat there suffering through the wave before it finally decided to calm down and Louis could finally breathe properly again.

"Bloody Hell" he mumbled, body already weakened from the attack of his upcoming heat. It felt like it was going to kill him this time around. He was pretty sure everyone up and down the hallway outside of his room could smell him as clear as a cloud free summer day without his scent neutraliser he normally would use in this situation, and it wouldn't be for long someone would've burst through the door and see Louis wasn't a fucking beta but a pathetic omega instead.

Fucking A.

If only Tabitha was there so he could've some of her cursed witch tea and at least trying to hid his scent from the rest of this village.

The downpour was still heavily going on outside. The only this there was a normal and constant thing in Louis' life. England's shitty and unpredictable weather was always gonna be there for him.

The village people was walking around as if it was any other summer day, talking loudly and walking up and down their man made paths towards their houses… cabins…. whatever they was. Did anyone from the outside world know of this village, or pack as anyone else who lived here called it, existence? Was Louis the first person they'd ever captured? Or was Louis one of the many others there's been inside of this hell hole of a room counting down his last the on earth before they'll execute him and finish the job they'd began with?

Just the bare thought made Louis break out in sweat again as this might be one of his last days alive, with his heat this close.

What a way to go.

So lost in his heat he wouldn’t even notice it if they actually did kill him.

Just like any other day the usually sound from the lock unlocking sounded through the room, the door noisily got pushed open and it groaned loudly in protest. The beta with the plate of food and glass of water silently came into the bedroom. Louis didn't even look towards him as he replaced the uneaten food with the new one he got, it would be less than ten second before he'd leave again and lock the door behind him and go on with his day. Just like any other day.

Luckily it was a beta and not an alpha giving him his food.

But no, today just wanted to say a big fuck you to Louis instead.

"You're gonna get sick if you don't eat any of this food, plus it's a waste" the beta said, voice so quiet Louis almost didn't hear him. "Someone could've eaten it instead but unfortunately, it will get wasted on you"

"Then fucking eat it if you want to complain about the hunger in the world, it's clear that I won't and I couldn't care less about wasting your precious food resources" Louis snapped back without a ounce of hesitation, his voice broke as it hadn't been used for days. This beta could kiss his arse for all he cares for.

Yet he didn't leave the room, just stood there beside the night stand with the plate of this mornings cold breakfast and stared at Louis as if he had three heads, empty and blank look in his eyes and thin lips in a down tilted frown.

The blue eyed lad turned his head towards the food delivery boy and finally got a good look of his face. Grey eyes but his fringe covered one of them in a gentle swoop, crooked nose there'd clearly been broken many years ago and never properly fixed and thin, really thin as if he was starving. Maybe he should eat Louis' old food. It'd do him good.

Maybe he was a slave?

Was they gonna turn Louis into one too?

A whole minute they stood there in a awkward silence and stared at each other, clearly the beta wasn't gonna leave anytime soon.

"You should eat" he repeated.

"You should leave just like you always do" and the beta shrugged as an answer to that.

Alright then.

"The Alpha have commanded me stay until you've eaten the whole plate, he knows you're not consuming the food. You should eat" he informed Louis.

Wow, suddenly Louis got even less hungry than he already was before.

He jumped down from the window frame where he's been seated for who knows how long, legs a bit shaky from the assault from his heat as he held on to the frame not to fall down on his knees and embarrass himself in front of this brainwashed shell of a human.

"Oh, that's right. Your  _ Alpha _ really said that? Your little cult leader, your big and dangerous dictator specifically commanded you to watch me eat. Can't you hear how sick that sounds?! Who even does that and who does this person think he is? Are you all really this naive?!"

This all sound like some sort of cult of Personality, they think of him like some immortal god there can't be touched by the merely human that was the rest of us and they worshiped the very ground he walked on. Obey to every command without even doubting it for a second and hear how fucked up it sounds.

For fuck sake, they called him Alpha Harry!

The beta didn't even flinch as Louis raised his voice at him, just stood there and took each and every poison filled sentences in without as much as a bat of his empty eyes.

"You should eat"

Oh for fuck sake.

"Go fuck yourself" Louis spat and turned around to sit down again. "And don't let the door hit you in your way out"

After ten minutes of the beta just standing there quietly he finally decided to exit the empty room, leaving Louis alone in his misery and loud thoughts again like he should've done to begin with. The small exchange between them took a lot energy out of Louis and he already felt like he could sleep for ten hours and some extra. He really should eat and get some nutritions into his body before he dies of malnutrition or something in that way.

He glanced over at the plate of food with a faint frown painted on his lips.

Today's meal was something with fish and potatoes as far as he could see. Dry and boring as if they didn't want to feed Louis but knew they had to for him to survive.

Jokes on them.

Again Louis slid down of the frame and walked towards the nightstand to drink the tall glass of water. His weak legs shook with each step he took towards the bed like he was lifting the double of his weight on his shoulders.

' _ Eat! _ ' a smaller voice inside of him said so quietly Louis almost didn't hear it at first. ' _ You'll need it! Eat _ ' it kept going on and on. Louis wasn't dumb, he knew that his heat was approaching quicker than he’d anticipated and he'll need the energy the food would provide him. It would be for the best if he just ate it. But his inner omega wasn't gonna win this round and Louis was as stubborn as a mule and wouldn't give in no matter how much it begged and pleaded him to. In some twisted way he silently prayed that he would be unconscious because of exhaustion through the whole ordeal of his heat.

He must have gone insane to think that is an good idea in any possible way but honestly he can't remember when the last time he'd gone into heat without taking his heat suppressants to suppress it and hold it down, make it shorter. Louis must've been 16 or 17 when he began to take them and never stopped again, he didn't know how his body would react to it.

One time. One time has he had his heat without having the drug run through his vein and that, that was an experience. He doesn't remember much of it beside crying and screaming. Screaming for it to be over.

It felt like centuries before it finally ended. He never wanted to feel like that again if he could prevent it.

Louis drank the cold water and mentally sighed as he downed it all in one go, his mouth still felt dry as a desert. He must've been more thirsty than he'd noticed.

Stumbling his way to the toilet to fill the glass up again and turned the light in above.

A gasp left his chapped lips as he stared into his reflection in the mirror.

Who has he turned into?

Limp, flat and greasy hair falling down across his forehead and reaching just above his shoulders now, dark purple, almost blueish bags underneath his sunken bloodshot eyes from the lack of restful sleep and stress he’s been under recently. Louis ran his fingers across his jaw in shock, the little fat he had on his face was completely gone and replaced with sharp as knives cheekbones there looked like he had been starved for week if not more.

The shirt they'd given him had slid off his bony shoulder so you clearly could see his collarbone sickly sticking out like a sore thumb.

Louis couldn't recognise himself anymore.

He spotted a scar there had been created by the stone they'd thrown at him above his eyebrow, he had to bite his lips harshly trying not to flinch at the memory.

The Louis from back in London was nothing but a faint memory now, a person who didn't exist anymore. Nothing but a ghost storie.

What had happened to him?

Wiltshire happened.

His eyes fell to the floor as he turned around to leave the bathroom and the reflection staring back at him with empty eyes and pale skin, forgetting to fill up the glass. He just wanted to sleep. This was getting to much for him.

Turning off the light, the sun was still up outside but he couldn't care less.

He just didn't want to be awake anymore.

Exhaustion was all he felt deep down into his bones.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Heaving and gasping for air like his lungs were empty for oxygen and abruptly sitting up in the small bed he was laying on, he could hear his own heartbeat loudly drumming in his ears and it felt as if it was trying to burst through his chests any given second and escape. He couldn't breathe. The sweat ran down his spine all the way to his lower back rapidly and drenched him from head to toe, he must've kicked the duvet off in his sleep as it was laying on the floor, his fist clenching the material covering the bed. It felt like his whole body was covered in a thick layer of dust, sweat and dirt from the lack of showering for who knows how long.

He was on fire.

Fuck.

A loud and desperate moan left his mouth before Louis could hold it back as he twisted his fists around the material and almost tore it apart, spreading his legs wide open uncontrollably and screwing his eyes closed so tightly to the point where he could see small flicker of lights behind his eyelids, it was almost painful. His shorts was soaked. The sticky and uncomfortable feeling between his thighs became even more noticeable the more Louis woke up from his hazy dazed state of mind.

It had begun.

Louis cried out and fell back on his back on the bed with a small thud, arching his back upwards and wringing himself back and forth like a possessed man and his hands never left their merciless grip they had on the bed linen. Tears falling freely down of the side of his face and mixing itself up with the sweat there was coating his face, sobs after sobs left his mouth as he cried out into the void in desperation.

It hurt. It hurt so bad.

Empty.

He was so hot.

The omega screamed at the top of his lungs. "No!"

More slick left his hole as it clenched around nothing, soaking his shorts even more than possible and left a huge dark spot on the bed. Heat wave after heat wave attacked his body and while Louis begged it to stop, it wouldn't be much longer before it'd take over his mind. Lust and greed would replace every other emotion he had and totally submerge him into the deep sea that consisted of nothing but primal instincts of wanting to be mated and bred.

This heat will be his death, he was sure of that.

It sure felt like at that given time.

Louis pushed himself up from the bed and stood up on shaky legs, he took three steps towards the ensuite before he fell to the floor on all fours with a louis  _ whelp _ .

"Fuck" he whimpered. He'll probably end up having carpet burns on both his palms and his knees from that fall, however, he couldn't care less about that in that moment. Louis didn't have the energy to get up again and decided to embarrassingly crawl toward the tiny bathroom instead.

It was cold in there and would hopefully soothe him for a little while.

It must've taken him 7 minutes to crawl towards the loo there normally would’ve taken two seconds, while he was a whimpering pile of mess, Louis couldn't even muster up enough energy to turn the light on or close the door behind him. The omega was just laying there on the cool, white tiled floor with his knees up to his chest as he hugged them closer to himself, trying to get his crying under control as each sob rocked his body to deep within his core. Slick kept pouring out of him in a uncontrollably amount, how he wished it all would just stop.

"Please" he begged at nothing. Louis wasn't even sure what he was begging for anymore. It could be for it all to be over, for help, maybe even for someone to spare him and just fucking do something already! Perhaps it was a mixture of everything and nothing. Not even his mind could tell him the difference from left or right anymore, everything was slowly becoming a blurry mess he couldn't make sense of as the heat sneaked up upon him from the back of his mind and taking over like a disease infecting him.

The edges started to fade into a dark mess of his eyesight the longer he laid on the floor, whining. Whining for an alpha to help him out, whining from the hunger for something to fill him up and finally calm his mind and nerves. The only thing there could help him in that situation. Louis would rather die from his heat before he'd touch and relieving himself while he laid on the dusty and old floor in some strange house in Wilton.

His hips started to thrust into nothing and his dick was begging for release and the friction he got from the soaked shorts wasn’t enough, a loud groan mixed with a broken cry of agonizing pain broke free from his sealed lips, throwing himself back on the floor like a mad man. It would had hurt awfully a lot if Louis would’ve felt anything but yearning for pleasure on his touch starved body and the pain throbbing through him like he got electrocuted every third second. His hands automatically tried grabbing onto something to steady himself but came out with nothing as they kept sliding around on the cold floor. Louis really tried to keep quiet and bit brutally down on his bottom lip so no one could hear him outside of his solitary.

"Make it stop" Louis slammed his fist down on the floor as if it would help him feel any better. "M-make it stop!"

The omega was getting dizzy and faint from the heat surrounding him and hadn't even noticed he'd started to tear his own shirt off, fingers ripping small holes in it in the process of it and he threw it as far away he could with the little energy he could muster up in his petite body. The icy floor felt nice against his skin for a few seconds before he got used to it again and the feverish feeling returned with its full force.

If Louis hasn't been so far gone in his own head and getting further into his heat he'd might had heard the door making its famous click noise of unlocking and creaking as it was opened by an intruder.

But he didn't, Louis could in fact not hear anything besides his own whimpers and mewls as if he was a hurt dog, the rabidly pulse going hundreds miles per hour in his ears. He wasn't fucking aware of what was going on around him like he usually would when he had his heats. When he was doped on heat suppressant.

It was first when he could smell the scent of someone else in the room other than the pheromones his own body let out rapidly he noticed someone else had entered the small bedroom. The scent of burning grass or something in that way, but what there was most promenade was the smell of hunger and Louis couldn’t get enough of it in his delirious state of mind. That raw scent of desire from another alpha was stinking up the room but Louis took it all in like it was his last supper, wailing out loud as he violently bucking his hips up, calling out for the alpha to do something.

In those few second where the alpha growled loudly and stumping its way towards the bathroom where Louis was laying, he completely lost himself in the heat.

He was gone.

His inner omega had taken over and would for who knows how long this round was gonna take.

The alpha pushed the door all the way open and there he stood massive and stout, lips pulled back in a growl and hovering over Louis as the mighty beast he was. Dark tan skin there went on for days and shirtless, sweat glistening in the moonlight. Muscles rippling underneath the skin as he kept on flexing his whole body.

Unfamiliar.

The blue eyed lad keened as the scent grew stronger and stronger the closer the alpha got to him, definitely burning grass.

"Look what we got here" the alpha said but it sounded muffled in Louis' ears, like he was under water. "A desperate little omega in its heat, waiting and waiting for someone to fill him up good, begging to be knotted" the word  _ knot _ Louis knew and left him in a babbling mess, saliva pooling in his mouth and drooling down the side of his mouth, he was yearning it. He could faintly hear himself mumbling and begging for it but he didn't care. Louis was about to turn around to his stomach to present himself to this stranger when his ankles was roughly grabbed by the alpha, two big hands on his skin and it had never felt better to be touched in his entire life.

"This is gonna be great fun" and suddenly Louis was getting dragged across the floor by his ankles, carpet burning his back and the back arms. He could definitely feel that even though he was deep into his heat already.

The burly alpha pulled him all the was towards the bed without any problems and didn't care that he was hurting Louis one bit doing so, picked him up under his armpits and threw him in the bed carelessly where Louis almost bounced off by the impact of it.

This didn't feel right, even Louis' inner omega knew that but bloody hell; his hands on his body had never felt better and he was starving for it.

He  _ needed _ it more than anything.

"Now be a good omega and lay still for a minute" the alpha commanded where Louis' only way of answering was to whine loudly 

_ Good omega. _

_ He was a good omega. _

Dark and rough hands ran down his abdomen close to his slick soaked shorts.

_ I'm a good omega. _

The alpha took his shorts off within one second together with his dirty briefers and Louis was on display for this stranger, naked and sweaty. Arms thrown out to the sides and legs spread wide open, displaying himself for the alpha so the other man could sit between them and touch him as he pleased.

"You want my knot, omega?" The alpha grumbled lowly as he came closer towards the omega. Louis didn't answer. He just stared at him with a dazed look and glossy and wet eyes. Blank.

_ I'm a good omega. _

"Of course you want it, you need it don't you? Such a good little omega, ready to take whatever I’m willing gonna give you” he stated and started to pull his own jeans down as quickly as he could without removing himself from Louis. Even the alpha sounded as if he was in a bit of daze, high from the pure scent of the omega lying beneath him pliant and ready to take whatever the alpha wanted to give him.

Louis unconscious began nodding and panting breathlessly, lifting his arms to claw at the alpha to get it on.

_ I'm a good omega. _

_ You need this. _

_ You want this. _

The door burst open and slammed against the wall so hard it was sure that it must've broken the wall, normally Louis would had jumped from the sudden loud noise but all he could focus on was alpha above him stopping. New scents assaulted Louis nostrils and made him whine pathetically.

All alphas.

" _ Aufugio procul a eum quod statin, suus' quod isussum! _ " a deep voice boomed in a foreign language and made Louis flinch away. Louis knew the owner of that voice but he couldn't pinpoint whom it belonged to. "Robert!"

The beefy alpha there now was pinning him down to the mattress possessively growled and tighten his hands around Louis' wrist as if Louis actually had the power to get away from him to begin with, growling at the other alphas to leave them be.

" _ Id omega quod meus! _ " the alpha yelled back.

Abruptly the weight on Louis was suddenly removed and so was the scent of burnt grass and he couldn't help but let out a big wail and writhing himself side to side at the agonising pain there ran through him the second the other alpha was gone and took the scent with him.

"No, no, no! I'm a good omega!" Louis cried and completely out from his state of mind. "I'm a good omega" he repeatedly said, praying the alpha would come back

On the other side of the bed the two alphas was trying to pin each other to the floor, snapping their jaws and growling.

"Liam take him to the heat emergency wing, now!" the alpha with the familiar voice yelled.

Louis was scooped up with the blankets around him to hide his naked body from everyone's sight. He didn't need blankets, he was feeling so hot already.

In a vague attempt he tries to push the strangers arms there was engulfing him away while he blabbered on about being a good omega, wiggling and whining.

Until. Until his head was pushed against the gland of the alpha. The scent of the grass in the summer after a heavy rainstorm.

Louis nuzzled closer to the naked skin, nose sliding across the alphas neck trying to take in as much of the neutral scent he could. Closing his eyes and just enjoying being held close for the first time in a long time by another alpha who wasn’t his own father.

The alpha who held him tight to his strong chest licked the dried up teartracks away from his cheeks as he scented him. Louis didn’t even notice that it was the first time he’d left the room for the first time in four days, all his thoughts was occupied by the pheromones and how gone he was in his heat. He was still repeating the phrase “ _ I’m a good omega, I’m a good omega _ ” like a broken record.

“You’re an omega, huh? Who would’ve thought that?” the alphas chest vibrates softly as he spoke and lulled Louis into a safe comfort zone. “And all this time we thought you were a beta, you fooled us all”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who broke their fucking phone...
> 
> that’s right my dudes, me. i broke my phone i wish you all could see how fucked up it looks cause damn i didn’t just break the screen, i beat the shit out of it, murdered it, brought it back to life just to kill it again. buuuut i got my sisters old one (it’s an iphone 6 so it’s all good).
> 
> however it also meant that the chapter i wrote got deleted so i had to rewrite the whole shebang again which is never nice, but i do like how this one turned out, i’ll even say that it’s one of my better chapter. at least there more dialogue in this one...
> 
> aaaand i came up with a schedule for my update which will be twice a month (maybe three if i magically get some spure of inspiration). don’t know what days i’ll be updating but at least it will be twice a month and if i’m ever DON’T update twice a month feel free to tell at me.
> 
> quick question before i end this long note, do you guys even listen to the music i put on the top of the chapters? it’s just out of curiosity cause even if you didn’t it wouldn’t stop me ;)
> 
> until next time xx


	12. where's my mind

_[Where Is My Mind? - Yoav & Emily Browning](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=CJ9xm7dBTDKbbRFxZs3FrQ) _

  
  


 

It's been awhile since the water from the shower head had turned freezing cold, pouring down onto his thin, shaking frame like an never ending rain cloud looming above his head as he sat in the icy cold bathtub with his knees bend up to his chest and his arms circling his legs tightly, it felt like he was trying to hold himself together from shattering into a thousand tiny pieces like a fragile little porcelain doll sitting on the edge of a shelf. Just... ready to fall down from one little push from the breeze. The water felt as if small needles was boring into his skin repeatedly and merciless but at least it was a welcoming feeling, a feeling he knew how to identify and was not the raging havoc going on inside of him from the emotional rollercoaster he's been on for the past 8 days nonstop. It was a feeling he could control.

A wise decision would be to turn the shower off and get out before he'd get frost bites and die of pneumonia or something equally as horrific as that.

His inner thighs was battered in blue and purple bruises from his constant pinching fingers going at it every opportunity, he didn’t even notice himself doing it anymore. Louis must’ve been sitting in the white porcelain tub for almost over an hour, he couldn't tell anymore. His heat ended four hours ago or so, it was around midnight as far Louis could tell from the darkness outside of the small window above the bed. The omega couldn't remember much of it anyways as he kept sliding in and out of consciousness as each orgasm had shook him into his very core, thrusting his hips into the bed linen trying to get any form of friction and pleasure on his cock while he was begging and whining like a hurt dog for someone the help him out and do something. Fill him up with their knot and make the bed sheets filthy with a mixture of slick and cum. The only time when Louis " _ came to himself _ " was right after every orgasm, his fuzzy head would stop being a unruly mess for around five minutes so he could somewhat collect himself.

Those five minutes he’d spend crying and screaming for it to stop until the heat finally would take over him again and submerge him into a frenzy state of mind.

Like an animal.

It wasn't normal for omegas to go into a feral state of mind during their heats and blackout from it, Louis knew that.

Everyone outside of the clinical looking room had probably heard his desperate cry for mercy and had ignored it like it was a normal thing there occurred everyday in their household.

If there even was someone outside his room.

Louis looked down at his hands and could see that his fingertips was starting to turn into a sickly pale blue hue, the same with the tips of his toes. He hadn't noticed he'd started to shake ever so slightly from the cold. He hadn't yet to even start washing his hair and body yet. He's just been sitting there, staring into the void with cold empty eyes.

With his hands on the edge of the tub he finally pulled himself up from his sitting position and stood up on shaky legs, unstable underneath him, resembling a newborn calf standing for the first time, as he reached out for the unlabelled clear bottle with a purple substance in it there probably was shampoo. As he opened the lid a smell of lavender engulfed his nostrils, Louis wasn’t used to scented soap as it didn’t mask his own scent enough for his liking so he slightly flinched away from the pure smell of if, he washed his hair with it and for the first time in who knows how long he finally felt somewhat clean.

Louis shook the bottle to get every ounce of the gel out in his hands to wash the rest of his body.

He  _ needed _ to feel clean.

Frantically he scrubbed his hands all over his body trying to get the last remaining of his heat off his body, the dried slick between his thighs was the absolutely worst and recoiled away as he ran both his hands up and down his legs repeatedly until they were red and sore from the pressure of his unrelenting hands, he still felt dirty.

"C'mon" he mumbled as the soap foam slid down his body. It wasn't enough body wash in the world for this, he needed more. Like a madman he reached out for the bottle and shook it violently so the little of remaining soap there was in it slid out and into his open palm. He washed his frail body once again in a desperate hope he'd finally feel clean and sooth the lingering feeling of disgust from deep inside of him where soap couldn't reach, eating him up. “Come  _ on _ ”

The bottle fell from his hand and landed in the tub with a deafening noise there echoed in the whole bathroom, Louis looked down at it with sorrowful eyes and couldn't help himself when a loud sob broke free from his vocal cords as he heaved after his breath like he couldn’t get enough into his lungs and he was choking on nothing. It was like the dam broke after that, sob after sob wretched itself free before Louis could stop it and it felt like he was back again when he was 16 years old when he first found out he was an omega. So lost and so confused.

He was back in his old room back in London, the day after his heat lying on his back on his little bed and staring at the ceiling with dried up tear tracks on his cheeks, unfamiliar emotions coursing through his body as he tried to make sense of what had just happened to him. He had locked his mum and dad out of his room, wanting to be left alone in his misery. They had tried their best to make Louis unlock the door so they could help him.

It ended up with Mark literally taking the door down and with Louis screaming at the both of them to leave him alone.

“Stop crying” he whispered to himself as he ran his shaking hands through his hair and harshly tugging it out of frustration as the tears wouldn’t stop falling. “Fucking  _ stop  _ crying!” Louis held himself together as his whole body shook with each sob. 

What was happening?

He wasn't sure anymore.

Without thinking about turning the water off Louis stumbled out of the shower and almost pulling the shower curtain down in the process as he nearly slipped on the white and wet tiles, his wet feet slapped against the cold floor as he ran into the clean clinical looking room with one single bed and one white nightstand. It uncomfortably reminded Louis of a hospital room, squeaky clean and not a thing out of place besides the bed there looked like a mess since Louis had just spend his heat twisting and writhing around on it.

White walls, white bed, white everything! It certainly was a change from the dark brown room Louis last remembers he was in. It almost hurt his eyes looking around the bright room, the fluorescents lights lit everything up and made it seem so much pristine and brighter but Louis’d been quick to turn it off so he was surrounded in complete darkness and the only thing there illuminated the room was what little light the moon gave out. Making the shadows longer and more scary looking, the shadows from the branches outside danced around the room as they were trying to reach for nothing.

Beside the bed was a small nightstand with drawers filled with towels, bodytempurtured water bottles and a change of clothing, what these people thought was essential to get through a heat it seemed. 

Like a scattered mess Louis stumbled towards the white nightstand and violently pulled the first drawer out so it almost fell out and crashed to the floor. There must be something else in there, there has to be! He threw bottle upon bottles on the floor in search of his must needed drug, no heat suppressants and no scent blocking and neutralising sprays, things Louis found absolutely necessary to get through he’s heats. To get through his day.

With a frustrated roar he  frenziedly tore the drawer out of the nightstand and threw it across the room so it collided with the opposite wall and broke into three pieces as the remaining bottles in it scattered all around the room, and began his hunt in the second and last drawer which was only filled with a pair of joggers, underwear and a light brown hoodie which Louis equally threw on the floor and mixed it with the other mess there’s lying on the floor. He couldn't recognize himself anymore, who was Louis without the suppressant running around in his bloodstream and completely covered in scent neutralizing spray masking his own neutral smell?

A bloody O.

Nothing but a weak and emotional unstable omega living a lie and trying to be something he wasn’t.

Louis fell to his knees with his arms around himself, fully naked and freezing, screaming out loud into the chaotic abyss.

“Please let me go home” Louis said, like someone was gonna hear him and finally answer his deepest wish.

Of course no one did, the room just grew eerily quiet and the only thing that could be heard was Louis’ shuddering breath as he heaved after air with a heavy heart and his head hung between his shoulders in distress and anger. He had no idea what to do, it felt like this was it. He was never gonna get home and he would have to spend his remaining days he now he’d left in some forest in Wilton, he was never gonna see Mark nor his friends ever again. He was never gonna see London’s busy streets with its blaring cars and loud people roaming around with no worry and direction to follow. 

What was gonna happen to him, was they just gonna leave him to rod in this hospital looking room like some inmade they wanted to get rid of but somehow didn't want to get their hands dirty? It hadn't been a problem before when they’d killed David  Hollingworth all those years ago in cold blood and all those other innocent people through the years. Louis was gonna be next in line, another article, another warning to  _ not go into the forest when it dark outside,  _ another tombstone in some foreign cemetery and soon dead and forgotten just like the others. There was nothing he could do about it, this was his faith it seemed like.

Curling into a foster position on the cold and white floor as naked as they day Louis was born, staring at the door with his blue hollow eyes as if he was just waiting for someone to burst in any second and see his pathetic form, nothing but a shell of the human he used to be. He really had nothing to give anymore, no energy left in his body to give out of.

They broke him.

Louis is done.

“I wanna go home” he repeated for who knows how many times.

Nothing mattered.

“I wanna go home”

Harry’s words rung in his head, “ _ you’re beginning to sound like a broken record _ ” as he unconsciously kept on echoing said words all over again and again until they sounded foreign in his own ears, his eyes was starting to dry up as he wasn’t blinking nearly enough. Eyes locked on the door in front of him, unmoving . Louis malnutrition body was shaking like a leaf on the floor but he was too tired to get up, the omega wasn’t even sure when he had laid down in the first place and how long it’s been nor did he really care. 

It could’ve been hours.

It could’ve been minutes, hell it could’ve been days. He wouldn’t had known.

For some unknown reason Louis’ ears was ringing loudly as if someone had screamed as loud as they possibly could right into his head for an hour.

The blue eyes lad must had laid there for quite some time when the sun slowly started to peeking up again and bathing the room in a subtle golden glow and softly lighting everything up, waking up the birds outside his window and making the cirp endlessly. Louis hadn’t moved once not even an inch, staying in the same fetal position. Limbs numb from the cold and from staying still for a long period of time.

A sound Louis had gotten familiar with over these past days could be heard loud and clear through the room all of suddenly.

A lock unlocking.

The door was gently pushed fully open and Louis hadn’t even enough in him to cover himself and save what little he’d left of his dignity from the intruder. 

“Oh, Louis” a sad voice spoke out with so much pain and concerned in it it almost made Louis start crying all over again. All Louis could see was two pair of shoe covered feet slowly started to walk towards the broken boy on the floor. “Love, can you fetch the clothing for me while I take care of him?”

“Yeah, of course” a man’s voice answered quietly.

Two hands slid under Louis’ armpits and made him sit up against the bed frame with a deep sigh, dark brown eyes meet his. Tabitha.

“Hey darling” she said with a unsure smile as she run her knuckles down his cheek, there was started to get covered in a scuff from him not shaving for a good long time, in a gentle manner like he was gonna break from too much pressure. “You’ll let me help you up in the bed, won’t you?”

Louis only nodded as an answer to her question, not having it in him to fight it. Tabitha put her hands under his armpits yet again and started to pull him up from the cool floor where he had spend most of his day already and onto the bed.

“Thanks” Louis whispered with a hoarse voice there begged for something to drink.

“Of course, it’s no problem” Tabitha assured him.

A man with short ginger hair and pale skin, covered in freckles from as far Louis could see, came closer towards them with a bundle of clothing in his hands, the very same Louis had threwen on the floor out of frustration and anger, blue eyes and a small smile on his thin lips. The omega hadn’t even noticed the stranger had started to tidy up his mess around the room. 

“Here you go mate” he laid the clothing in Louis’ lap. “We’ll give you a bit of privacy” he said as he put his arm around Tabitha and turned around and Louis could take a sign that he should probably start getting dressed.

He pulled the white boxer briefs on, a bit too loose on him but he’ll survive. The black joggers was made for someone whose legs were longer than his so he was forced to roll them up around his ankles and the hoodie was so big Louis was basically swimming in it however it wasn’t something he wasn’t used to already. When he was descent again he awkwardly fake coughed to make Tabitha and the stranger turn around, Louis was fumbling with the sweaters sleeves and curled his fist into the fabric as he stared down at his own lap in embarrassment, he wasn’t sure how to feel about them seeing him like this.

He was a mess.

Instantly Tabitha walked closer towards him again in two big steps like she couldn’t get there fast enough for her liking, hands reaching out for him. Her hands was on each on his cheeks as she lifted his head up for her to get a good look at him, the cold from her rings was pleasantly soothing on his skin as his cheeks had started to slowly turn into a faint red colour from embarrassment, and ran her thumbs back and forth on the top of his cheekbones. Louis stared into her eyes with blank look and shutting everything out but her familiar gaze on him, he was sure the other man was speaking to Tabitha but she didn’t care to answer him as she held Louis’ empty gaze with worried eyes of her own. It almost felt like she was trying to communicate with her eyes but Louis wasn’t sure what she was trying to say to him.

“Love, you know we can’t stay here for much longer” the stranger said to Tabitha and laid his hand on her shoulder. “We aren’t allowed in here”

“I really don’t care what we’re allowed to or not” she simply said and finally slid her hands away from Louis’ face and down to his shoulders giving them a firm squeeze before completely letting go of him, the omega’s gaze instantly fell onto his lap again since Tabitha was holding his heavy head up anymore. Her warm eyes felt a little too much on him, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Louis should’ve been glad that someone somewhat friendly had found him and helped him out. He could escape.

Louis could’ve ran right past them and right out of the door. Louis five days ago would’ve done it in a heartbeat without looking back. Louis now could barely hold his own weight up for more than five seconds at the time from pure exhaustion he felt deep within his bones.

“I know you don’t but someo-” the man was cut of by Tabitha speaking up again. 

“John darling, please do be quiet for a second. Louis?” Tabitha said his name as a question and made Louis look up at again at the pair with their concerned eyes follow every movement of his, Louis’ flickered back and forth between them not sure who to look at.

The blue eyed lad mumbled. “Hm?”

“I’ve heard what happened to you yesterday, are you okay?” she asked.

Louis shrugged and looked at anything but her. “Does it matter if I’m okay or not, it won’t really change what happened. I can’t even remember what happened, let alone was conscious when it did”

The man stepped closer with his eyebrows raised high on his forehead in shock, standing a good head and a half taller than Tabitha and shoulders double the size of hers, it almost looked comically.

“You weren’t-what?” she asked as if Louis just hadn’t spoken loud and clear. Louis shrugged as his answer as if was a perfect normal thing not being awake during his heats. Which for Louis it was, he’s never been fully  _ there  _ all through his heat since the second time he’s had them, always been floating between totally knocked out or half awake but drugged out of his mind. The suppressants did that to him. If taken in normal doses (a week before you heat begins and week after) you’ll remain awake during it like any normal person does. However taking in abnormal huge amounts it will eventually start messing with your natural heats and your senses and the side effects will start showing more prominent. You won’t pick up scents as easily and your own will get muted to the point where it won’t be detectable at all and you’ll be seen as an beta rather than an omega.

So imagine taking them for four years straight without missing a day.

Louis has never been known to be the smartest nor will he ever do.

“That can’t honestly be very good for you” the man, John, mumbled to himself.

“No it isn't” Tabitha answered John but kept her intense eyes on Louis like he was gonna run away any second if she didn’t. “It really isn’t”

The omega waved his hand in a dismissive motion as to say they should leave it alone already. What’s done was done and this was Louis choice, he knew what he was getting into when he started taking the heat preventing medicine in the first place, many warned him and most even denied selling him it as the side effect cause such a great damage on the body and would leave you in such a health risk if you abused it for a longer period of time.

Louis wasn’t sure where he should look, at John’s bewildered facial expression as if he couldn’t quite grasp what Louis had just confessed or Tabitha’s upset and concerned eyes with a frowning mouth to match. 

“Is it becaus-” Tabitha was cut off by Louis before she could finish her thought.

“Yeah, it is. Let’s just forget I said anything to begin with, hm?” Louis clasped his hands together awkwardly and gaze flicker between the pair in front of him.

The petite lady shook her head at him and crossed her arms across her chest obvious not very pleased with Louis and how he could so indifferent with the situation, John’s hand on her shoulder held her back from saying her true opinion about the matter and rip into the blue eyed lad that this was  _ definitely not okay _ . 

She mouthed a  _ later _ to Louis as if that was actually gonna happen and Louis was gonna tell her his whole life story.

Yeah… over his dead body.

“We should really leave soon before someone founds out we’ve been here” John broke the tense silence as he tried to rationalize with Tabitha that they should leave yet again.

“We can’t just leave him here” she reasoned, they both spoke like Louis wasn’t just sitting in front of them and could hear every word leaving their mouth, making decisions for him like everyone else's done already in this rodden place. Nothing new there.

“I know that Bitha, but there isn’t really much we can do here” 

“I’m not leaving him again!” She walked towards Louis for the second time that day with a determined look in her amber eyes, she held his face to make sure he heard every word there left her mouth. “I’m gonna get you out of here even if I’m breaking and direct order from our Alpha” she vowed with so much fire and Louis couldn’t help himself but held on to it and believe every promises she said.

Louis nodded slowly. “I just wanna go home”

“And I swear you will. Trust me, we’ll get you home as soon as possible” Tabitha guaranteed.

John sighed loudly and slightly shook his head at his mate.

Tabitha slid her hands down to his shoulders and down his arms until she reached his hands where she hold on to them and gently pulled him so he was forced to stand up from his sitting position on the edge of the bed. His legs was weak under him as he took two steps forwards to them, bare feet cold against the floor which made the goosebumps raise from his ankles and upwards until it reached his neck and made the fineste of hair on the nape of his neck stand straight from the chills. Even walking seemed like such a foreign concept for Louis since he hadn’t used his legs like a proper human being for who knows how long, he’d crawled into the tub earlier limbs and brain still hazy from the last waves of his heat still going on.

Like Tabitha could sense that the omega wasn’t gonna walk much faster than the slow pace they’d going on she didn’t hurry him as if they’d all the time in the world but in reality someone could burst in any second and catch them trying to help Louis escape.

“And how do you propose we’ll get him out of the heat wing? We’ll get caught before we even reach the stairs up to the entrance hall, this place is packed with guards and you know that” John voiced while he slowly walked behind Louis and Tabitha.

“I know this house like the back of my hand, trust me, I got this” Tabitha assured as she pulled the thick white door open sticking her head outside to double checking left and right no one was there before gently pulling Louis into the long white hallway with so many doors on each side, the sharp and blinding fluorescent lights burned his eyes Louis couldn’t help himself but slightly flinch and clenching his eyes shut to block it out as he tried to get use to it. “John, you keep guard and make sure no one sees us”

“Tabitha…”

“Please, we can’t leave him here”

The door slammed shut behind them echoing in the silent hall, Louis stopped breathing with his eyes flickering around sure someone must had heard that. All three of them stopped moving trying to pick up any steps walking closer towards them but there came nothing, just the ominous silence growing between them with each second.

“Alright, let’s do this” John whispered with a deep sigh to it. A big smile grew on Tabitha’s plump lips showcasing all of her pearly white teeth in a huge satisfied grin. “Go, go, go. I’ll be right behind you”

The mountain healer tugged at Louis to make him start moving down the opposite way down the hallway, speeding up with each step they took. For the first time Louis saw what it looked like outside of his little bedroom he’d spend his heat in, the hallways looked like it was taking straight out of a hospital. A long hallway lit up in a haunting white light with white doors on each side, some closed and locked where probably some omegas was spending their heats while some door was pushed open so you could see right into them, empty for people and abnormal clean. The smell of hand sanitizer and other cleaning products was uncanny and it made Louis’ eyes run in water from the burning sensation of the smell.

It came to the point where they was almost running, Louis’ body was begging him to slow down since he was using engeri he didn’t have and he felt like a bit like throwing up from pure exhaustion. He wasn’t sure when was the last time he’d eaten anything.

There was a brown door there looked oddly out of place in the white walled hallway where Tabitha was pulling him towards. 

“It’s a shortcut to the emergency staircase, it leads to the backyard. Our house is about seven minutes walk way from there, four if we hurry up” she explained like she could read Louis’ exact thought. He just nodded, too out of breath to give her a proper answer.

“Let’s just hope no one’s out there” John mumbled behind them.

Tabitha pushed the brown door open and it faintly squeaked in protest from its years of been unused. Louis’ knees nearly buckled underneath him as he saw how many flight of stairs they’d to walk down to get to the exit. He couldn’t do it.

He already felt like dying just from a bit of running, he wouldn’t survive this.

“Tabitha I… I’m so exhausted” Louis confessed.

“John, do what you have to do” Tabitha straight up ignored him and before Louis could object to anything John but his arm right at the hollow of his knees and behind his back, lifted him up like a bride and began running down the stairs without breaking a sweat, Tabitha right in front of him. Normally Louis would’ve screamed and commanded to be put down again but he knew he wasn’t gonna get down to the exit by himself so this for the better and he knew that. “I said we was gonna get you outta here” Tabitha said and a threw a wink over her shoulder.

Louis had his arms around John’s neck for safety. 

He wasn’t sure how long it took for them to get down but it must've taken less than 10 minutes, if Louis had walked those stairs by himself it would’ve been 20 minutes if not more. The emergency staircase was nothing but a few yellow lamps giving off minimum light and brown walls making everything seem smaller than it was and Louis couldn’t help but feeling a bit claustrophobic. 

John pushed the door open with his shoulder, Louis was hiding his face into the other man’s chest as they got assaulted by the early morning sun shining bright and annoying from above, it almost felt weird on his skin.

“Love, can you sense anyone out here?” Tabitha asked John as she looked around. 

John’s chest vibrated as he spoke. “No, the closest scent I smell is about-” he took a deep breath through his nose. “3 meters away or so, I’d we can make it to the house without anyone seeing us” he assured them and began speed walking away from the huge house there was Louis’ prison.

The blue eyed boy didn’t even raise his head to get a good look at his surroundings and honestly he couldn’t care less, he was going home and hopefully never seeing this place ever again.

 

 

**_****_ **

 

 

Louis was sitting with a pink mug filled with steaming hot tea in his hands on a sofa with a thick blanket thrown over his shoulders as he stared into nothing, John was walking back and forth in front him as he ran his hands through his hair repeatedly - like a caged animal - all while mumbling lowly to himself, Louis wasn’t really sure what he said or if it even made sense what came out of his mouth. Tabitha was sitting beside him as she tried to feed him out-of-season watermelon and other kinds of fruits, ignoring her mate’s distress as if it was an everyday occurence for them in their household.

It’s been a little over an hour since they broke Louis free from his own personal little hell hole of a room, not much had happened beside John pulling every curtains for in the small house to make sure absolutely no one knew Louis was there and him freaking out just a tiny bit. Louis’ quite sure he hasn’t even sat down once since they arrived. Tabitha had cut fruits into tiny cubes and put them in a cute little bowl for Louis to snack on, something light and and healthy for his body cause who knows when was the last time he’d eaten anything. So far Louis’ eaten about five little cubes of fruit and drank to cups of tea, his body already felt heated up as he hugged the blanket closer to himself. 

The house had a very… homey feeling to it. Pictures from the past years hanging on the walls and every furniture had a very warm tone to it (the couch they’s sitting on was bloody mustard yellow) and Louis was pretty sure he saw a bowl with crystals in the entreens hall. It felt lived in and loved, small nips and nacks all over the place but it all was very them - John and Tabitha - and it reminded Louis of those cabins you see in a Christmas film with the perfect little family living in. It was too good to be true in a place like this.

“We can’t just lead him out of the pack, it guarded from every angle by the  _ copiaee _ so that’s definitely a no go. There’s people everywhere and they know what he looks like, they’ll notice it immediately. There’s no realistic way of us getting him out of here, this was such a bad idea-”

“Oh for the moon’s sake shush, will you? Your hair will turn grey before the sun goes down again if you keep going at it at this pace” Tabitha joked with a small giggle as she put another little cube of watermelon in Louis’ hand. 

John stopped his pacing and looked at Tabitha with a lifted eyebrow. “First of all, I’m a redhead, my hair doesn’t turn grey and you know that, second thing, you know I hate breaking orders from Alpha Styles so of course I’m stressed out. I’m allowed to be stressed”

Louis popped the small cube into his mouth and slowly chewed as he watched the exchange between the pair, it almost felt like John only calmed down whenever Tabitha distracted him and it was weird to see such a…. fitting couple in front of him. Last time he’s seen someone so well matched together was well, his mother and father. They peculiarly reminded Louis of them, the way they poked fun at each other and could just  _ speak  _ with their eyes, not a word was needed to be said before they understood each other. It almost felt like he was intruding something.

“We will figure it out  _ amasiuncula _ , we always do” she guaranteed.

Amasiuncula?

All these foreign word they casually threw out into the room made Louis spin with confusion but he was too tired to ask what they meant, he wasn’t even sure what language it was. He kind of wish he had a possibility to write it down so he could translate it when he finally got home.

Home. Louis was finally getting home.

“Yea, yea we do. I’m just… I don’t know, I want this to go as smoothly as possible” John said as he sat down on one of the matching chairs, the same exact colour as the eye catching sofa, awkwardly scratching his tousled hair.

“I know you do, we all do but Louis need to eat something and get his energy level up a bit before we can’t even leave. I rather not have him collapse from pure exhaustion in the middle of Wilton” Tabitha said while she feed Louis more fruit. “One step at the time”

“You’re right”

“Oh love, I’m always right” Louis choked on a piece of fruit as he tried to hold his chuckle in, nearly spilling tea over the rim. Fortunately it wasn’t her ‘’ _ famous _ ’’ herbal tea she had given Louis before, god no, it was just normal earl grey this time with just a small hint of licorice. Not Louis’ favorite but hey, at least it didn’t taste like swamp water.

With curious eyes Louis looked at his surroundings as the two other adult sat and talked lowly about a plan and what they should start to do and when, Louis was too engulfed with what he was seeing at the minute to properly listen in what they had to say about the matter. Small crystal was hanging from the ceiling appropriate height so no one would bump into the while walking around, a huge bookcase completely covering one of the walls filled to the brim with old, untitled books from the bottom to the very top and scented candles on every surface. All there was missing was a big black cauldron brewing a potion with all this witch nonsense.

A knock came from the front door and they all simultaneously got quiet as their head snapped towards the rapid noise the knuckles made against the door made of wood, it didn’t stop. Whoever who was knocking kept going at it and it almost felt like it grew louder and louder with each knock, like they were gonna burst through the door if they did it any harder than this.

“What are we gonna do?” John frantically whispered to Tabitha, the panic spiking through the roof.

“I’ll answer, stay here and keep quiet” she said to the both of them.

She stood up from the couch, the floor creaked underneath her steps as she walked towards the front door. Louis was sat frozen like a statue, too afraid to move even a muscle and even to breath too loud. He was still holding on the the mug in his hands and it felt like he was gonna break it at any point from how much pressure he put on it.

He already knew who was outside that door.

It sounded like Tabitha didn’t even open the door fully before it was pushed open, thunderous and fast step was walking towards them.

“Harry!” Tabitha yelled out loud, walking right behind him.

His dark green eyes meet Louis’ as the first thing as he stepped into the living room, shoulders tense and looked wide in the light grey t-shirt he was wearing there was looking tight across his chest, hair wild and tousled by the wind outside and like he’s ran his hand through it a million time. His breathing was loud and heavy as he just quietly stood there and stared Louis down like a predator hunting down it prey, eyes never leaving it for one second and lips lifted in a slight snarl. 

John was now standing beside Tabitha, his arm around her waist as he tried to push her behind himself for safety while Louis was still sat on the ugly couch not moving an inch.

“I directly order you, Tabitha, not to get involved in this and yet you go against it” Harry said, it almost came out as a growl with his deep voice, eyes never leaving Louis for one second. “The  _ one  _ order I gave you”

“Harry, she didn’t me-” John tried to chime in but was quickly silenced by the alpha’s furious glare there instantaneously flickered towards the pair to make him shut up before he even began.

“She didn’t follow the order! And you beta, is as much as part of it as she is” 

“No Harry, he isn’t a part of it. I forced him to help me, I couldn’t do it alone!” she swore while trying to push John away to get near Harry again but without any luck. “I swear, this was my plan!”

The big alpha started walking towards Louis with slow and steady steps, Louis’ followed each of his movement. “It doesn’t matter whose plan it was and it certainly doesn’t change the circumstances we are now in” he stopped walking when he was stood right in front of Louis, looking down at him with his dark, forest green eyes. Louis’s eyes followed the long and pink scar there ran across Harry’s face as they led up to his eyes.

Louis should’ve felt scared shitless but somehow he really wasn’t. 

“Just let him go home Alpha, he doesn’t have a purpose here nor is he a threat for the pack. You know that!” she tried to assure Harry but he simply shook his head at it.

“He knows too much already” Harry said with slowly and dark with his molasses like voice, he looked back and forth between Tabitha, John and Louis.

Louis needed to speak up now or never else he wouldn’t get home anytime soon. “I won’t tell a soul about you”

The green eyed alpha kneeled down to get in eye height with him, his facial expression changed into a doubtful one as he lifted one of his eyebrows at him like he wanted to explain himself further. “And how can I trust you, you’ve done nothing but ignore and disobey every command and order I’ve given you so far, what can you possibly do that makes you think I’ll trust you now?” Harry questioned.

Louis shrugged. “You can’t but you have too”

Harry scuffed with a low and harsh chuckle. “You’re impossible”

That might be very true but in that moment Louis would tell this  _ monster  _ anything he wants to hear so he’d get home, get outta here before this place ends up killing him.

“I promise, you can trust me” Louis assured.

Harry stood up from his kneeling position, standing straight looming over Louis with a smirk on his lips. 

“But that’s the funny thing about trust, omega, once it’s gone bad,  _ bad _ things are gonna happen”

_ Do not call me that! _ , Louis wanted to scream in his face at the top of his lungs but he kept quiet not wanting to anger the other man and ruin the possibility of him going home.

The household grew eerily silent and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, Tabitha and John didn’t say a thing while Louis and Harry stared each other down with so much hatred and fury. All of suddenly Harry turned around with a deep and loud sigh and crossed the living room to get out to the entreens hall again to leave, conversation clearly over.

“Very well, I trust you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REEEEEEEEEEEEEE! LETS GO! ROUND TWO!
> 
> I'M BACK BACK BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH A BETTER AND MORE CONFIDENT GAL!  
> so i tried something new with this chapter, i added a lot more dialog than i usually do which was new for me... hope y'all like it.
> 
> lets see much i'll write before my little bubble burst again and i'll be a insecure mess yet again xx


	13. who's in the shadow

_[Ruelle - Game Of Survival](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=PmagVgnwRd6TU0xHMKFl3w) _

  
  


“Very well, I trust you”

That can’t possibly be true.

Louis sat quietly on the sofa and stared gobsmacked at Harry’s broad back as he couldn’t quite believe the words there’s left the alphas mouth only seconds ago, no way it could’ve been that easy convincing him letting Louis go and there’s no way in _hell_ Harry trust him enough that Louis’ won’t go to the authorities with everything there’s happened. This must’ve been one big misunderstanding or Harry is literally taking the piss outta this for his own sick of enjoyment. After who knows how many days they’ve had Louis locked inside of a room with no contact from the world outside of those four walls - beside Tabitha, the small beta and Harry himself - they weren’t just gonna let Louis walk out like nothing, waving at his departure like a soldier going off to war.

No fucking way.

Harry had yet to leave the house, he just stood there with his back to Louis and the beta pair like he was waiting for a reaction from either of them in any shape or form, broad shoulders tense as he stood straight and proud, towering over every single one of them. He looked uncomfortably out of place in the small and warm home.

Almost like an elephant in a china shop.

The tension filled silence grew thicker and thicker with each second going by, none of them knew how to break it and start talking ‘bout what really mattered. Lord knows Louis’ head was filled to the absolut brim with unanswered questions. Why, why, why?

Why was Harry all of suddenly trusting him with this, why was he willingly letting him go all of suddenly like hadn’t fought tooth and nails for Louis not to escape and locked him up inside a room for days, and why did the man had a change of heart out of nowhere? Nothing made sense to the omega anymore.

This place made _bloody_ no sense!

Tabitha’s brown eyes was flickering back and forth between Louis and Harry as if she’s waiting for one of them to start speaking any time soon, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, almost as if she wanted to say something herself meanwhile John stood there, frozen like a statue and held onto his mate for dear life like he was afraid to let her out of his reach and absolutely no help at all.

You could faintly hear the clock ominously ticking away in the background and it almost felt like a time bomb ready to explode at any given second.

_Tick, tick, tick._

Louis was left speechless.

“I-I… I’m sorry, what?” Louis said, no whispered, although it felt like he was yelling it out loud in the quiet living room. Harry turned his head so Louis only could see his side profile, the long and bright, pink scar - there always shocked Louis whenever he saw it like it was the first time all over again - stood out like a sore thumb on the other man’s face and pulling the skin tight around it, the blue eyed lad couldn’t help himself but obviously stare at it and letting his eyes run along with it, taking in every detail of the scar like it had changed from the last time he’d seen it.

“You heard what I said” Harry simply answered and ignored Louis obvious gaze on his face.

For the first time since Louis was escorted into the home he pushed himself up from the comfortable velvet, mustard yellow sofa onto his weak and unsteady legs, the blanket sliding off of his shoulders and onto the floor as it pooled around his naked feet, he had to hold onto the armrest as he wavered slightly on his legs from the rush of lightness he got in his head from the sudden movement. And that certainly made the alpha turn fully around again to face Louis, their eyes meet and the facial expression on Harry’s face almost felt mockining as his arm was crossed across his chest which made the shirt inappropriately tighten around his arms and chest, lifted one eyebrow at Louis like he wanted him to _go on_ but one thing was sure, he weren’t gonna be intimidated by this _monster_ with a fucking god complex.

Or at least let it show that he was.

Louis shrugged his shoulder. “So that’s it? You all of suddenly trust me?”

Harry’s face fused into a confused one as Louis spoke. “Isn’t that what you wanted to begin with, me trusting you with this?” he asked.

“I mean, yeah but it can’t be _that_ bloody easy”

“ _Louis_ ” Tabitha hissed at him clearly wanting him to stop talking immediately before he’d ruin his own chances of going home if he keeps opening his mouth without thinking, having absolutely no brain to mouth filter at all. Harry’s quickly snapped his head towards the pair with heated eyes to shut the mountain healer up if she wanted to interject anything else, making Tabitha shut her mouth completely.

The taller man took one step closer towards the omega as he turned his head towards Louis again with it slightly tilted to the side clearly showing his confusion with the situation. “I’m not sure what you want from me then” Harry mumbled with wide eyes on Louis, eyes flickering around his face like he was absorbing every detail of him which made Louis turn his face away from the uncomfortable gaze of the other man. Harry seriously had a staring problem.

With a frustrated sigh Louis threw his arms out to the side signaling his annoyance. “I don’t want anything from you! It’s just doing my head in that you and your little cult kept me here for so long for nothing, you’re standing here now willingly letting me go without a fight and I just wanna know why”

“You know too much” the alpha said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, those word he’d repeated every second since Louis got here. Would he just stop saying that already!

“Piss off, I know nothing!” Louis yelled at him.

John almost took a step towards them as he could feel the tension rising through the roof in the living room but Harry made a quick dismissive wave with his hand to make the beta stop up before he could even move an inch closer, his other hand was pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes clenched closed in irritation as he mumbled something under his breath Louis couldn’t quite tell nor hear. Probably that language they all keep switching to every now and then, it all sounded like gibberish to him to be honest.

“Alright, don’t get me wrong here Louis, I do not find you to be the most trustworthy person whatsoever-”

“Hah! Called it!” Louis interrupted the other man. A rumbling noise came from from Harry’s chest there sounded very much like a deep growl but it stopped as fast as it began but it caught Louis completely of guard and made him stumble for a bit before he could quickly straighten up again and hoping Harry wouldn’t notice the effect it had on him.

“Do not talk over me as I am speaking, omega” the alpha commanded.

_Don’t call me that!_

Louis’ hands was curled into a fist so hard his hands and arms started twitching and shake with anger and frustration while he was digging small half moon shapes into the palms of his hands with his blunt and bitten raw nails, the omega inside him was begging him not to make a scene out of it as it was still close to the surface from his recent heat and ready to be let loose and take over him. He had to bite the inside of his cheek painfully hard not to let a pathetic growl out as the alpha in front of him had called him his secondary gender, he’d never let Harry’ve the satisfaction of seeing him bow under him just because he was a fucking knothead alpha and Louis was a omega.

He took a deep breath through his nose and for the first time since Harry’s arrival he noticed the distinguish scent there was Harry’s own, Louis had been too occupied by the _need_ to persuade the alpha of letting him go home and bit too lost in his own thoughts to even have picked it up but _now,_ now it stood out stronger than ever and it was the only thing the omega could smell, not the scented candles there was lit around the room and it was taking over his senses and Louis couldn’t think properly. For the first time since his first heat his blood systems has been free from the toxic chemicals of the heat suppressants and every other drugs Louis used on a daily bases and everything around him was coming at him with full force, stronger than ever and it almost felt like it was burning his nostrils with how intense it was.

_It’s too much._

Louis couldn’t help himself from gasping after air just to get another whiff of the superior scent, he couldn’t quite describe it even if he wanted to but there was a undertone of burning wood mixed with something much sweeter, it was much stronger than any other scent Louis’ encountered in his entire life and it was fucking messing with him.

The omega deep within Louis wanted to make a high keening noise in his throat but he quickly swallowed it down and clenched his eyes closed to get his emotions in check before they’d spiral outta control, he can handle this. Even if Harry’s eyes felt like they burning into his skin from his relentless heated glare on him and his overtaking scent _choking_ Louis so he couldn’t think clear.

 _Get it fucking together!_ , he thought to himself as he dug his nails harder into his palms trying to make himself focus on the matter.

Harry coughed to get Louis’ attention on him again after the pregnant silence between them, his eyes fluttered open and instantly found Harry’s meadow green ones. “As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me; no, you're not the most trustworthy person I know however I want to see if you’re going to show me what you're worth and keep your word” Harry finished his sentence with a little smirk on his lips as he ran his ring clad hand through his messy hair, the thick silver stripe standing out against the dark brown hair of his.

Louis was grinding his teeth as he nodded at Harry’s words.

“We’ll be getting him out of here-” John began to say and is probably one of the first thing he’s said since Harry busted in of the door like a mad man but he was quickly cut off by the man himself yet again. For someone who gets annoyed by someone else interrupting him i mid sentence he sure does it a lot himself, what a hypocritical fuck.

“No, I’ll be the one getting him out of here and no one else, he’s my responsibly” Harry informed them.

“But-” John tried again but didn’t even get to finish his first word.

“No further discussion”

Tabitha gently pushed John away from where he was standing in front of her for the whole time so she could walk towards Harry on light feet and the floor didn’t even squeak in protest underneath her steps like she was floating right above it, like it was welcoming her steps. As she reached him she rested her hand on his shoulder with a pleading look in her soulful eyes on the alpha and made him look at her with questioning gaze, his facial expression changing from the smock one he had when he looked at Louis into something much… softer and kinder. Something there looked foreign on Harry’s face since it seemed that he’s always wearing either a furious or blank expression, at least that was what he looked like whenever he at much glared towards Louis’ direction. That or a that filthy _smirk_ Louis really hated.

“Harry, let us do it. I promise, no funny business and beside that, he trust us more than you so it probably go a lot smoother” she said to him and spoke about Louis like he wasn’t even in the room. “You can trust us”

“Oh, can I? Cause the two of you are not exactly on the top my list of favourite people at the moment and to be quite frank with you all, I do not care one bit of this process will go smooth for him. He wants out? Out he will get” and there was no more room for further discussion on that topic, Harry was the on who was to lead him out of here.

“Alpha, please” Tabitha tried again, begging him to just listen to her. Louis looked at the exchange between them, he was sure that any moment Harry would push her away from him but nothing happened. He let her hand stay on his shoulder as he lifted his eyes from hers and searched out Louis’, his facial expression hardening into stone and jaw set in a scowl as if he hadn’t “almost” smiled down at the doctor beside him. It was crazy that Harry could go from this caring looking character but quickly change into the exact opposite a second later, something must not be right up in his head cause no way that was normal behaviour.

Harry gently shrugged his shoulder, just enough for Tabitha’s hand to slid of his shoulder and fall down beside her hip again. “We’ll leave at late afternoon and you’ll be out of here. Not earlier and not later than that, you understand that? ” he told Louis.

The blue eyed lad huffed out a breath at the statement and could feel the annoyance boiling inside of him. “Do I not have any say in this at all?” he asked frustrated.

“No you don’t” Harry simply answered as if it made everything better.

Of course he didn’t, when did anyone ever ask Louis how he felt about anything?

That’s right, no fucking one.

Louis flops down on the couch again in surrender as he can clearly see there wasn’t anything they could do about the situation, Harry was gonna be the on getting him outta here no matter what his thoughts was about the matter. He would much rather have Tabitha be the one to do the deed but of course Harry has to be a constant pain in the ass. Louis wasn’t even up for tryna convince the older man to change his mind, Harry clearly made his mind up about it and wouldn’t change it for someone like Louis.

Harry pointed at the bowl with the cut up fruit there’s been left and forgotten on the table and then point his long finger back at Louis with a lifted eyebrow. “Eat, I know you did not touch any of the food I tried to give you these last couple of days” he commanded.

Great.

And now Harry thought Louis’ trying to starve himself.

With that he turned towards the two betas in the living room with a determined look in his stare as he pointed towards the pair. “And the two of you, we will have a talk about you defying my orders later when I get back to the pack after I have escorted the omega back to where he belongs”

As the alpha turned around to leave the house and get back to whatever he’s doing before this Louis muttered under his breath. “Don’t hurt them” he breathed out without him even thinking about it but Harry had heard him loud and clear with his superior hearing senses he has as an alpha. He halt his steps as he stood with his back facing Louis, the muscles underneath the tight fitting t-shirt was going rigged as he tensed up from the words there’d left Louis mouth.

“I don’t hurt people without a reason, I’m not a monster no matter how much you are determined I am”

Louis didn’t even have the opportunity to answer Harry’s statement before the alpha stomped out of the house leaving the shelves shaking in his departure, Louis was left silenced as he looked over at John and Tabitha who was staring at the front door and completely ignoring Louis’ eyed on them.

So that happened.

He was going home after how many days he’s spend here (it could be weeks for all he knows, Louis hadn’t really kept up with it after his heat had kicked in) and had vanished without a trace, he was gonna see his father again, he was returning to Wiltshire with its boring buildings and picturesque but bland landscapes and finally get back to his everyday life like nothing happened. Louis was probably gonna handle this like he’d done with everything else in his life, never talk about it again until he’ll slowly push it to the back of his mind where it’d eat him up alive until his very deathbed. But this was nothing like what’s happened before in his life, how would he fucking get over this?! Knowing these people are running a cult of some sort in the forest as they killed people who got a bit too close for their comfort and bloody getting away with it for so many years, Louis couldn’t keep that to himself no matter what he promised Harry.

Louis was gonna tell _someone_ about this for any of the future victims. No one was gonna be the next ‘’Louis’’.

He was just lucky he was getting away with this at all.

“You know, he’s right” Tabitha spoke and tore Louis out from his running thoughts going 100 miles per hour. The blue eyed lad blinked a couple of time to wetten his drying eyes and coming back to focus, John had finally moved and was silently sitting on the old chair again with his head in his hands as Tabitha’s eyes was piercing Louis’ while she walked towards him.

Louis wasn’t sure what she’s talking about. “Huh?”

“Harry’s right, you don’t look at us as if we’re equal with you but merely monsters there’d kidnapped you for our own sick pleasure” Tabitha informed him.

“I don’t look at you any differently” Louis argued his case.

Tabitha huffed out a breath as she sat down beside him and laid her hands on his shoulder in a condescending way like Louis just wouldn’t get what she’s saying. “You don’t look at me like that cause we’ve bonded over these past days, you somewhat know me and knows I won’t hurt you in any way however you glare at anyone else crossing your path in a angry and… almost fearful way since you’re arrival. I don’t think you’re doing it intentionally but it’s hurtful”

“No I don’t” he tried to contradict and pushed her hand off of his shoulder all while turning his head away from her stare. It might be a bit childish the way he’s trying to argue with her but what Tabitha was saying was false. It was! Louis would’ve noticed if he was fucking looking at someone differently, he isn’t stupid. “I don’t look at _any_ of you differently!”

Tabitha tried to make Louis turn towards her again so they could discuss this further but Louis was being nothing but stubborn about it and simply shrugged her hands off him every time she tried to move him as gently as possible. “Louis, c’mon. I’m just trying to-”

“And so what if I do, huh?” He finally turned around to look at her as he threw his hands up in frustration. “Your people kidnapped me without a reason, fucking kidnapped me! I think that makes me allowed to look at you a little different than I normally would. And beside that matter, you guys turns into wolves of all things, that’s not normal and I’m scared for my life that as soon as Harry and I leaves this place and he takes me into the woods he gonna turn into one of those over sized animals and murder me cause I apparently “ _know to much_ ” for his liking. So yeah, I’m mad and afraid and have every right to be”

John had started to look up halfway through Louis speech to make sure it wouldn’t escalate into something Tabitha couldn’t control herself, the female beta simply nodded as Louis spoke and didn’t interrupt him as his voice roose until he’s had started yelling it to get his point across.

“Okay” she simply answered to Louis’ rant and that was that.

 

**_*_ **

 

The sun was a it lowest point before it would completely retreat for the day and the night would throw its dark and endless blanket over the land, the last golden light could be seen making its way through the windows and making the shadows longer and longer before they would be completely gone until the next day. Louis hated the winter with its shorten days and freezing weather it brought, it felt like it was here to stay forever as summer seemed to be nothing but a figment of a lost dream. A bit melodramatic his mother would’ve said to him but Louis truly hated winter.

But there’s one thing Louis hated more than winter and that was Tabitha’s herbal tea.

And that was what Tabitha and John was force feeding him, as well as water based fruits so he could get some energy before he’d was to leave. Something his body wouldn’t immediately reject after he’s been dehydrated for so long. Tabitha had came up with some mumbo jumbo about how the herbal tea was specially designed to give him more energy and whatsoever Louis was forced to believe as he drank it and flinched every time it touched his taste buds. Nothing will ever compare to the taste of Tabitha’s herbal tea, Louis sure as hell wouldn’t miss it and and swear on anything in his life he’d never complain about his dad’s food ever again as long as he’d never taste the god awful tea ever again of the remaining og his life.

Louis hadn’t moved much beside going to the loo every now and then, just staying on the sofa with a blanket thrown over him as he munched on fruit and slowly drank the tea so Tabitha or John wouldn’t refill it so often. The mated couple hadn’t spoken much english since Harry’d left the household and only switching from the language whenever they asked or talked to Louis directly. The blue eyed lad had wanted to ask what kind of language they’re talking but came to the conclusion it wouldn’t matter much anyway since he’s going home soon and would probably never hear it in his life again after this day.

Talking about Harry, when was he coming? He said late afternoon, that could be whenever. Did these people not use the clock whatsoever and just ran with their instincts? It felt like he’s been waiting for three whole days for the man coming back to the house to lead him outta here and it felt like neither John or Tabitha knew much about what was about to go down either or else they would’ve told him something, right? He wasn’t sure anymore.

Tabitha was running around the house like a headless chicken as she was muttering words under her breath like she was searching for something, John had left less than 10 minutes ago as he had some… business to take care of apparently. And Louis, Louis was just sat there of the old and ugly couch as he let his eyes follow Tabitha in her stressed state of mind as she ran in and out of room and up and down the narrow staircase leading to god knows what while she was searching for something mysterious. Louis would normally asked her if she needed any help but he’s sure he would’ve done nothing but standing in her way in her little search.

Suddenly a pair of boots was thrown down from the very top of the stairs and landed on the floor with a loud thump which made Louis flinch away and nearly spill the tea all over himself in the proces.

“Got it!” Tabitha yelled from the top of the stair as she ran down them with a brown backpack in her hand and a pair of thick socks there was a disgusting green colour in the other. “Found it! Knew it was here somewhere in the house no matter what John said, knew that man didn’t throw it out”

And what was the to be exactly?

The mountain doctor came running into the living room with her hands full of things, her oversized shirt flowing in the wind with how much she was constantly moving around and spotting a big grin on her lips as she looked at Louis’ pathetic form. He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on but Tabitha was smiling so something good must’ve happened. She kicked the boots towards Louis as she couldn’t hold anymore stuff in her hands at that point.

“Alright so I got some boots since the shoes you arrived in is gone, they might be a bit too big on you since they’re John’s old ones but I did found some thick winter socks so they feel like they might fit better. Oh, unfortunately we don’t have any spare jacket for you since John constantly forgets to take them off before transforming and tears them apart, it’s a hell to deal with. We have to buy that man a new jacket every week, it sure feels like that man is about to go senile sometimes with how many times I’ve told him to take it off before he goes all wolf man. Men, imma right?” she rambled on and on, Louis wasn’t even sure if he understood half of the things she said. She released the tight grip she had on all the things and it all fell to the floor with loud noises and made Louis flinch away for the second time. Tabitha seriously needed to stop doing that or she’d end up giving him a heart attack before he get the chance of going home.

Louis scratched his head awkwardly as he looked around at all the stuff Tabitha had brought down from upstairs as he was unsure why she’d done that to begin with. “What’s in the bag?” he asked.

“Just some small gifts from John and me, nothing special” she assured and Louis simply nodded, he didn’t want to dig deeper into it. “Just a small reminder of us, a departure gift if you wanna call it that”

Tabitha pointed at the mug in Louis’ hand like she’s asking him if he needed more but Louis quickly shook his head and took a big sip of it signaling that he didn’t need more, he tried desperately not to gag as he drank it but god, _it so fucking disgusting._

Applause to both John and Tabitha if they drank this everyday, even if Louis drank this everyday of his life he wouldn’t get used to the taste of it no matter how hard he tried.

Out of nowhere Tabitha clapped her hands together as she looked around the room before her eyes met Louis’ again. “I’d strongly recommend you eat the last of the fruits and drink the remaining of your tea, Harry will turn up anytime soon and as far I could get from he’s words you guys’ll leave whether you’re ready or not”

Louis wasn’t really hungry anyway but that sure made him lose his appetite in any shape of form, he shouldn’t feel nervous or scared but that was the only emotions Louis could name in that exact moment plus with hundreds of other he couldn’t identify. He was fiddling with the mug before he finally sat it down on the table before he would lose all control of it and spill it all over his lap like an clumsy idiot, he pulled the blanket tighter around himself and tried to avoid the eye contact of Tabitha. Knowing Tabitha she could read him like an open book if she wanted to no matter how Louis tried to stay closed off.

The beta collected the socks up from floor, folded them in her hands and afterwards reached over towards Louis so she could give them to him. He mumbled a small ‘ _thanks_ ’ but simply put them down on his lap and was left them there untouched, not even taking them on.

Why was he nervous?

Where was the excitement of going home after the hell he’s been constantly dragged through day in and day out?

Maybe it was the fact he’s forced to spend alone time with Harry the ticking time bomb in a dark forest and he had an odd feeling he wasn’t gonna leave the woods in one piece? Nothing made sense, Louis couldn’t even explain his own feelings anymore! This place has made him lose his mind and he’s officially off his rockers.

And if Louis did return home was he gonna be nothing but a shell of a human he used to be?

Fuck, this was really doing his head in and if he kept on going at it in this tempo he’s emotions would end up spiraling outta control and end up in a embarrassing panic attack, one he didn’t need.

Louis blinked a couple of times trying to get back to reality of the real world, pushing his thoughts and bloody mental breakdown to the very back of his mind, he could handle that later. Tabitha was still in fact staring at him with genuine concern painted on her entire face and body language but it was like she was too afraid to move closer towards Louis like he was gonna lash out if she did, who knows, he might. Louis wasn’t sure if she’d said anything in the meantime he’d been lost in his own head, she probably had and hence why she looked worried about him not answering her. That’s what made the most sense for the young boy.

“Are you oka-”

Louis hurriedly interrupted her before she could even begin, he waved his hand in a quick dismissive movement with his hand and breathed harshly out of his nose. “Yeah, yeah” he said but his voice broke in mid sentence and he tried to cover it with a cough. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit lost in me own head, nothing to worry about”

“Louis” Tabitha tried as she popped her hip to the side with her arms crossed across her chest in such a motherly way that it almost hurt. “You can’t keep it locked up inside you forever, it’ll kill your soul”

Louis was pretty sure the whole ‘ _soul_ ’ thing wasn’t real anyways so nothing to worry about on that case, huh.

He just nodded his head to satisfy her but didn’t further elaborate on it, it didn’t matter anyways. Just silly thoughts.

Louis pulled the blanket away from his body to take the ugly socks on, they might be a hideous colour but they were soft and comfortable on his feet from the years upon years of usage and been washed, his feet has never felt warmer in his entire life. He might have to invest in some winter socks when he finally gets home.

If he does…

“So” Louis started out as he straighten up and stared at Tabitha with questioning eyes. “Do you actually know when Harry is gonna turn up here or does he just like the element of surprise?” he asked as tilted his head slightly to the side and he fringe fell in front of his eyes from the sudden movement, soft from being without any sorts of products for who knows how long. The smell of lavender was still strong like it was clinging onto his body and hair.

Tabitha shrugged her shoulder. “I’m not sure to quite honest with you but one thing I’m sure of, it won’t be too long for now. You’ll get home soon”

Louis could live with that.

The beta pushed the boots toward Louis, as he stepped into them they fit was way too big even with the thick socks on but he would rather wear bigs boots on his feet than walk around the forest without any, _again._ It was a wonder his feet even survived that, Louis clearly remembers the wet, slippery and cold ground underneath his feet as he’d ran through it trying to escape this place. It felt like he’d been weeks ago that happened, perhaps he should’ve ask someone how long he’s been stuck here.

Harry was already out of the picture, he’d probably end up saying the same thing he’s told Louis since he’s been here. That old bloody sentence that, _you know too much_.

Louis really hoped he’d choke on his own words if he as much as tried to repeat them to him again. And falls over and die.

But that was just wishful thinking.

As the omega stood up from the sofa from the second time that say he yet again weakly wavered on his legs from the dizziness there took over him like the water washing upon the shores but this time he had a bit more food in his body and the disgusting tea had given him some energy so it faded away quicker this time around. Tabitha was fast by his side in case he actually did fell over and was there support him if so.

“Are you sure leaving tonight is such a good idea in the state you’re in?” she asked him as they started to walk around the table so Louis was standing in the middle of the living room with her.

“It’s now or never, I don’t know when I’ll get my next chance getting outta here” _before these people end up killing me_ , he also wanted to say but he knew that was crossing the line and Tabitha for sure would make an argument out of it he didn’t have enough energy for, he had the spare what he’d left in his body for the travel home. Louis wasn’t sure how far out this place was, he’d been out like a light when they’d taken him here and from his last try escaping it felt like he wasn’t even anywhere near Wiltshire and he had ran!

“Louis, I’m sure Harry would understand if we put it off to tomorrow instead”

“And I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t so let us not talk about it anymore” he assured her.

Tabitha picked up the backpack for Louis and gave it to him so he could get it on, it was a bit heavy on his bag but nothing he couldn’t survive. What the hell was in it that made it so heavy to begin with, has she filled it bricks?

She softly clapped him on his shoulder with a kind smile on her lips. “Well, I guess you’re all set now. Now all th-” she was interrupted by harsh knocking on the front door before it was opened by the intruder itself, the knock clearly signaling that the person was coming in whether they wanted them to or not. The familiar stomping of feet against the old and used hardwood floor could come from nothing but Harry himself, the way it sounded too loud for the small house to handle and just like Louis said earlier, an elephant in a fucking china shop.

Harry turned around the corner from the entryhall and was stood there stiff as board and had clearly changed his clothing into something way more fitting for these types of weather conditions. He was now wearing a pair of brown suede boots on his feet and paired with a what looked like brown sheep wool coat Louis nothing but envied in that moment, it looked so comfortable and warm. He’s not sure how he did it but Harry had made his hair look even more messier, with random strands sticking out of place than when he’d left the house earlier that day and the bags underneath his eyes seems like they’d gotten darker tint to them too. He looked a bit like a hot mess to be quite honest.

The alpha looked around the room before locking in eyes with Tabitha’s. “Where’s John?” he asked.

“He’s at the hospital wing” she informed Harry.

“So he’s finally decided to do his job now, hm” and the he switched over to that god forsaken language, talking way too fast for Louis to keep up with it even though he couldn’t understand a word they spoke between each other and Louis really wished he knew what they were saying in that moment. It really felt like they were talking about him with how their eyes kept flickering to Louis and then back at each other before talking again.

No, they were _defiantly_ talking about him.

Louis huffed out an annoyed breath as he crossed his arms across his chest while he was waiting for the two of them get done with their ever so private talk he couldn’t be a part of, he couldn’t help himself but exaggerated rolling his eyes so they knew he wasn’t exactly enjoying their little moment and wanted them to be done as soon as possible if he could help it. Harry obviously noticed it cause he turned his whole body towards Louis with a raised eyebrow, running his eyes up and down his body and made a clicked with his tongue on the roof of his mouth.

“I see you are ready to go”

“I am so let’s go already” Louis assured with his sharp tongue and sassy demeanor.

“Impatient?” Harry asked as a smirk grew on his lips, Louis wanted to punch his face so bad.

“Very so”

Harry softly hummed as an clearforcation and as he was about to turn around again so they could leave the house with Louis right behind him, Tabitha quickly stopped him by pulling him back by his wrist while she looked at him with begging eyes and Harry stopped moving instantly to hear what the mountain healer had to say. Of course she had to stop them.

“Please, let John and me be the one taking Louis home” she pleaded with him yet again, a fight she already had lost before it even had begun.

The alpha shook his head at her and pulled his arm towards himself again so the loose grip she had around his wrist was released. “You know why I can’t do that, _apricitas_ ”

“I-I… Then at least let me get a minute with him before you leave” she asked of him.

He mumbled a small ‘ _sure_ ’ while he stepped back so the space between him and Louis grew, Tabitha instantly walked right in front of Louis and put each of her hands on his cheeks so she could look directly into his ocean blue eyes with her own golden brown ones there held so many emotions. The ring adorned on her fingers was icy cold against his heated cheeks in a comforting way, Tabitha was almost squeezing his cheeks together and it made Louis feel like a small child about to get told off by their mother.

She ran her thumb on the high of his cheekbone. “Please wait until you get home before you open the backpack and don’t forget about me” she said with a shaky voice.

“I won’t” he promised. _And I probably never could even if you asked me to,_ he wanted to add on but didn’t.  

“I’m gonna miss you” Tabitha pulled him into a tight hug before finally letting him go, Louis had never been good with sentimental declarations so he simply nodded but Tabitha got it as she softly smiled at him while she stepped back from his personal space.

Harry coughed awkwardly behind them and finally ruining the moment. “Now that we shared that tender moment can we finally get back to where we were at?”

Tabitha slapped his shoulder for the comment which Harry just chuckled at. The beta followed the two of them out to the entryhall and friendly clapped Louis’ shoulder again as she opened the door for them, it squeaked quietly in protest and showing of its years of being used.

The omega couldn’t stop himself from scratching his neck as he felt eerily uncomfortable in the situation. “I guess this is a goodbye”

Tabitha shook her head at him like she couldn’t disagree more with his statement. “It’s never a goodbye but simply a see you later, darling” she assured him.

If it’s up to Louis he’d never return to this place ever again in his life, so yeah it’s a goodbye but whatever makes her sleep at night.

As Louis and Harry walked out the house for the last time she gently closed the door behind them however, Louis was meet with a sight he’d rather be free from ever in his life and he wanted to turn around immediately and open that door to get back in the house. Liam who had a long gash on his cheek, Demian and that other man Louis had seen the first day he woke up here, equally as bruised up, stood at the last step of the porch and shit, Louis really wanted to just… attack them right there or something equally violent to add on the bruises they already got. Especially Liam and that Demian guy who was still as fucking shirtless as the day Louis had first met him, still wearing that disgusting smug smile on his face and it made his blood boil with anger. If he as much as tries to talk to Louis he will snap and rip his eyes out out their sockets. Or at least try before they all stop him.

They might be four alphas against a weak omega but Louis was a force to be reckoned with.

Harry was the first to finally go down the few steps towards the men and Louis followed right behind him like a lost pup, what else could he do? It wasn’t like Louis knew his own way out of the village.

Liam took one step forward and meet Harry halfway, the curly haired man pulled Liam towards him by the nape of his neck, Liam did the exact same with him as Harry leaned his forehead on the other alpha’s while they both closed their eyes for a second or two before opening them and leaning away again. It almost intimate in some sort of way and Louis felt like he’d to look away but he just couldn’t, what the hell was going on in front of his eyes?

“Take care of the pack while I’m gone” Harry commanded Liam.

“Of course, Alpha”

And for the god knows how many times Harry switched over to that unknown language again as he spoke to the rest of the men with quick word and before Louis could even keep up he started walking away, Louis almost fell over his oversized boots as he tried to keep up with Harry’s abnormal long legs and quick steps like some overgrown giraffe person. He could’ve at least warned Louis in some way before just walking away, it’s not like Louis can read his mind!

They walked past all types of different houses in all sizes and made out of different material, most of the reminded Louis of those luxurious cabins you see in Christmas films and always wanted to visit as a child and live in. What there was a big difference from the last time Louis was out here was that this place was booming with people and… children of all different ages. Running around and simply just enjoying the remaining of the day and paying Louis and Harry no mind at all, too busy with their own little game as far as Louis could tell. It was a such a huge change from the last time he saw this place he almost stopped up so he could get a better look at this _surreal_ surrounding. It all felt like it was too good to be true, like a set up or something. They all seemed so happy and carefree.

Though some of the elder people looked at them with curious eyes but hastily looking away whenever their gaze as much as caught Louis’, looking down at the wet ground and hurried away in a kind of embarrassed demeanor or they just didn’t want Louis’ questioning eyes on them and had to run away from it as quick as possible.

Louis still had a rough time trying to keep up with Harry on one of the many man made paths there lead back to the dreaded mansion there most likely would end up hunting his nightmares for the rest of his life, hopefully they weren't gonna back there before leaving.

“They are all staring at us” Louis stated and still looking around as he tried to take in as much as possible, every little detail of this place to describe it better later on.

Harry suddenly took a sharp turn towards the forest as he sighed out loud before answering Louis, “It’s cause you are stranger, we don’t get visitors often around here so they are all curious of who you are”

 _Makes sense by the way you all treated me when I first got here,_ Louis thought to himself. It send a shiver down his spine just from the cruel thought of it and he tried to hide it as best as he could from Harry.

The sun was about to be completely gone for the day and Louis was sure the forest would even more ominous with its tall, naked trees, he sincerely hoped Harry had a flashlight on him or else this trip might be the most impossible things Louis ever had to endure in his life. Harry was a good few feet in front of him and it shouldn’t had been this hard for Louis to keep up but with how low he’s on energy and any proper nutrition in his body it felt like Harry’s running from him, he kept running out of breath and had to stop up for a few second to get his breathing under control before continuing. This might’d ended up killing him.

It wasn’t windy per see but the weather itself was biting cold and it felt like it was nibbling everywhere where his skin was exposed to it, his fingers was turning numb from these brutal weather conditions but at least he was lucky Tabitha had offered him a pair of boots or else he’d frozen his feet off by now, we all knew that Harry wouldn’t had given him any. Louis’ breath came out as a small translucent cloud as he hugged his arms around himself, trying to keep himself warm in any way he could and with each shiver shook him to his very core of his being. If they kept going at it with this rate Louis would sink so behind and end up fucking dying right there in the forest.

Perhaps that was Harry’s plan all along.

When the two of them had walked for about 10 minutes into the forest Louis dared to look back at the small village and you could only faintly see the light from the huge mansion house but beside it was secluded by the trees and the nature around it. It will be a pain to find again.

“You’re freezing” Harry stated right in front of him and made Louis’ head snap forward and jump back with fright, like a stealthy lion had he’d sneaked back towards Louis without a sound and almost gave him a heart attack.

Louis mumbled a small ‘ _jesus_ ’ under his breath before talking louder so Harry could hear him clearer. “Great observation, captain obvious” Louis snapped at him as he tried to push past him but Harry quickly by throwing his arm out to the side so he couldn’t pass him and Louis rolled his eyes because of his ridiculous behaviour. Then the alpha started to shrug the coat off of his shoulders and before Louis could protest (he wouldn’t, that coat looked so awfully warm), Harry swung it around his shoulder and for the second time the alpha had borrowed him his jacket. It was as warm and cosy at it looked. “You didn’t have to that”

“She couldn’t lend you a jacket too?” he asked and altogether ignoring what Louis just said.

Louis took the coat of so he could get it on properly without the backpack being in the way. “You guys could just have given me my clothing back and we wouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with” he said as he zipped the jacket all the way up and swung the bag around his shoulders again, it reached almost down to his knees and it was way too long around his arms so it hid Louis’ hands it the material but he’d no space to complain. The coat might be the most comfortable thing he’s ever worn.

“Touché” and that was the end of that so they began walking further and further into the darkening forest, the trees looked like they grew taller and taller which made the paranoia kick in inside of Louis’ mind. This felt all too familiar, the only thing missing was the howls from the beasts.

As the omega jogged towards the alpha there was already way ahead of him he almost tripped over a root from some tree, his breath hitched but he quickly got himself under control and ran rest of the way so he was up beside of Harry who was just looking straight ahead, walking on the uneven forest ground with no problems at all. Practically like the woods knew him and made a path for him to follow with no problem but made Louis trip over everything there as much as crossed his way.

“You’ll get yourself killed if you keep sacking behind like that” Harry informed him.

Louis grasped after air to fill in his lungs before he begun talking, “You could at least slow a bit down so I had a way to keep up”

“No can’t do omega”

_Don’t call me that!_

Without the omega even noticed it he’d begun to slowly grind his teeth as he curled his fist tightly into the material from the annoyance for the alpha and his comments, he was fed up. Louis started to speed up walking faster and faster so he passed Harry, breathing coming out uneven and chubby but he didn’t care, he just need as much space between Harry and him for a minute before the green eyed man would catch up on him again. He wasn’t even sure which way he needed to go but screw it, he’d find his way back with or without Harry’s help.

The dried up sticks breaking under his feet echoed through the whole forest as he pushed long branches away from his face while groaning and sounding like a petulant child there didn’t get it in his way and making a lot of unnecessary noise there probably woke the whole forest up from its slumber. Louis could hear Harry chuckling at him further behind him and that just gave him more reasons to keep going at it.

“How long again?” Louis complained as clung to a tree to catch his breath before starting stomping away again in protest. His feet was already killing him in these boots and it nibbling uncomfortably at his toes. Louis wasn’t even sure long they’d walked for but it felt like forever, they were absolutely submerged into the spine-chilling darkness by now and Louis quickly found out his so called ‘night vision’ apparently wasn't up to date since he just couldn’t seemed to get used to the dark surrounding him as he kept constantly stumbling over non existing things. Usually he wasn’t this clumsy.

Harry curled his hand around his arm helping Louis straighten up before he kept walking past him. “An hour, perhaps two. Never traveled this path on foot” he answered and he stepped over a fallen log while running his hand through his hair trying to get it under control. He was wearing a thin, almost translucent black sweatshirt and clung to his broad shoulders and his back so Louis could see the muscles rimple underneath it as they were both faintly lit up by the little light the moon gave them so they’d orientate themselves of their surroundings.

With a loud groan Louis continued going. Of course they had to walk for two hours!

“If you want me to I could transform so-”

“No!” Louis almost yelled out. “No, no. There’s-there’s no reason for that, walking is just fine” Louis assured him even if he was slight humping his way towards him. Harry would probably end up fucking murdering him if he turned into one of those animals and feast on his body and Louis doesn’t want to take the chance with that, he’d very much like making it outta there with all his limbs attached to his body thank you very much.

Every minute or so Harry would stop up and wait for Louis to catch up and… sniff the air like a bloody dog like he was searching for something, head snapping left and right and just behaving down right weird as Louis came up beside him and he’d start walking again like nothing happened. He wasn’t really sure what the alpha was tryna find out here in the forest but whatever floats his boat. They weren’t really talking with each other and the silence was thick with tension and was only broken by the dried up leaves crunching underneath their boots and Louis’ moaning and groaning there came out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

It was all really uncomfortable between them, the omega didn’t exactly know how to speak with the other man without them ending up in another awkward silence and what was there to say to begin with? It was pretty clear they both hated each other’s guts. But Louis’ paranoia was eating him up from inside and it felt like he could see _things_ moving out of the corner od his eyes and with Harry stopping up constantly to look around like someone was following them didn’t help his mental state one bit. So perhaps he did need Harry to start talking to him just to distract him for a moment or two even though he wouldn’t particularly enjoy it much, anything to get him thinking about something else than the moving shadows.

As if Harry could read his mind he cleared his throat as he stood leaning up against a tree with his arm crossed across his chest and his head tilted slightly to the side with a questioning glimt in his shining, field green eyes and with the corner of his lip tilting down in a kinda frown. “So was there a reason you hid you are an omega?”

Of all things Louis thought Harry might’d asked him this was definitely not one of them but it shouldn’t had surprised him as much as it did, Louis stumbled a bit back before he quickly composed himself. Harry did after all think he was a beta, just like everyone else beside Tabitha, when he first got there.

“Shut your mouth, it’s none of you bloody business” he hissed at the other man as he walked right up to him again.

“Do you talk like that to anyone or am I just that special?” he asked in a jokingly manner before he turned around and left Louis right there by the tree.

Louis did nothing but lowly growl as an answer for the alpha which just got a ugly snort out of Harry as he walked right beside him.

He takes back what he just said, Louis would much rather prefer if Harry just stayed quiet the whole way back to Wiltshire or else Louis might do something he’d regret and probably get arrested for later if the man kept opening his mouth.

The pregnant silence grew between the two of them as they kept walking for who know how long, if felt like Louis had acid in his legs with each step he took as his energy level dropped by each second going by and he’d kill for just a small break but it seemed like Harry wasn’t stopping anytime soon so they’d to go on. He should’ve asked for a fucking to-go cup filled with that energy boosting tea Tabitha kept on jabbing about was life saving and did wonders.

Suddenly Harry stopped with his hand on Louis’ chest signaling he should stop moving too. His heart rate started to pick up as Harry frantically looked around, silent as mouse as he breathed in deep and the fine hairs on Louis’ neck started to raise as they stood absolutely still in the foreign forest.

“What’s goin-” Louis was about to say but was interrupted by Harry shushing him, a hand over his mouth and in any normal situation Louis would’ve popped off and ripped Harry’s hand away from his mouth in rage but the facial expression on the alpha’s face was stone cold as he sniffed the air around them. Small growls abruptly came from the very top of Harry’s throat, it felt like Louis could feel them deep within his bones and he’d to hold in the small whimpers wanting to leave his mouth behind Harry’s hand, like an itch in his throat. His inner omega was confused and conflicted why the alpha had begun growling out of the blue and most of all wanted to curl into a small ball for safety but Louis bit his own lip the suppress the neverending urge running in his blood.

Now was not the time.

The rumbling growls grew louder and louder from Harry, his eyes was flickering all over the place and never staying at one place too long. What was going on?!

Harry moved Louis so fast in front of him that Louis didn’t even absorb it before the older man dug in hand into the sheep wool coat’s pocket and pulled out a shiny dark green bandana and he made sure Louis was looking him directly in the eyes and had his full attention.

“Tie this around your head and make sure it covers your eyes so it won’t come off” he order fast, probably the fastest Louis ever had heard him talk and gave it to the omega.

“What the hell is going on?”

“There’s no time to explain, just do what I told you and I’ll make sure nothing happens to you, okay?” that did nothing to ease Louis’ racing heart but he nodded  his head submissively before tying the material around his head and making sure it was tightly tied in a knot and wouldn’t come off. His vision was completely gone now and it felt like his heart was about to burst through his ribcage at any given time, he had no possible way he could orientate himself and had laid his blinding trust in the man who hates him hands without even thinking about it twice. This smelled like a bad idea even for afar.

“Please tell what’s happening” Louis begged Harry, head turning left and right trying to make out where the alpha was.

“There’s no time” Harry repeated and then he picked Louis up in a bridal position, a panicked scream left Louis’ mouth as he clung to Harry’s shirt too afraid the man might drop him.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Louis yelled out loud. Harry squeezed him tighter to himself and began running. The sudden wind was pulling Louis’ hair in all directions and he couldn’t help himself but curl closer towards Harry as everything around him blurred into one huge mess, all senses thrown outta the window. He was pretty sure his blunt nails was digging into Harry’s skin but fuck if he cared in that moment.

Louis could feel it every time Harry jumped over a log or took a sharp turn with each rush he got in his stomach while Harry held onto his shaking form and never letting go. The omega could feel the alphas heartbeat loud and clear, it sounded like Harry wasn’t even out of breath from how calm it was and it was the only thing he could hear, it oddly calmed the omega deep inside of Louis, it knew it was safe even if it was Harry who was the one holding him and his scent was sending the inner omega into a place where all it wanted was to keen and purr from the sudden bliss it got from it, like a fucking drug. It wanted Louis to enjoy it while it lasted cause who knew when the next time an alpha other than his dad was gonna hold him this close. Too bad Louis was too stubborn for his own good.

All concept of time had disappeared as Harry held Louis close while he ran through the forest from the unknown, he wasn’t even sure how long’s been since Harry picked him up and took off. It had been a wonder the alpha hadn't fallen already with the slippery ground underneath them, Louis wasn’t sure how he did it but it almost felt like Harry was flying with the only disturbance was from the sharp turn and jump there was a few of. Louis was breathing harshly against the soft material of Harry’s shirts and had probably dampened it up by now but it was the last thing Louis thought about.

What was out there that’d made Harry react like a mad man and thrown all forms of personal space outta the window and just… picked Louis up like nothing so they could get away from it? How close was it and was it still following them?

The fist Louis had around around the shirt automatically tightened as the grim thought of what was out there took over his mind, Harry had yet to answer any of the question and Louis most defiantly do anything to get those answers out of if before the separate.

With a swift movement which proceed of Harry sliding across the muddy ground for a second before finally stopping altogether, the queziness grew bigger and bigger equally with the big lump in Louis’ throat and made the omega push Harry’s chest away from himself until the alpha finally got it and let him down. Louis only got three steps away before he kneeled over and puked his guts up, nothing come up but a few pieces or fruits and pure acid from his stomach. The heat sneaked all the way from his chest, to his cheeks and down to the nape of his neck plain embarrassment he felt from Harry seeing him this way one too many times. Weak and sick.

As he coughed up the last thing from his stomach he ripped the bandana from his eyes, he could feel Harry’s hand on his back as he took a deep breath through his mouth and spat the remaining saliva out before he straighten up on his shaking legs. Louis could feel the tear track down his cheeks but hadn’t noticed he’d started to tear up from the pressure there came from whenever he started puking, his eyes were probably bloodshot and he most likely looked like a mess with his hair sticking in all directions.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked him but Louis made a quick dismissive wave with his hand there said ‘ _I’ll survive_ ’ and slid the backside of his hands across his cheeks to get rid of the remaining of the tears still holding on to his skin.

“What the hell was that out there?” he answered with another question.

Harry shrugged his shoulder. “Nothing you should worry about, Louis”

Of course he wouldn’t say it, Harry never told him shit so why would he’d begun there? Can’t train an old dog new tricks.

“I think it concerns me a little bit since I was out there with you too, I was a part of it too” Louis then tried and threw his arms out to the sides, stomping his foot like a small child and still waving the bandana around there was in his left hand.

And the Harry bloody rolled his eyes at him. “So let me explain it to you differently for you so you understand it, it doesn’t concern you”

Honestly, fuck Harry and everything he stands for.

Perhaps he expected a thank you for his good deed for getting Louis outta there cause if Louis’ been out there all alone he most likely wouldn’t had survived it but when he won’t even tell Louis what they’d ran from wasn’t fair.

“That’s not fair” the blue eyed lad complained.

“Survival isn’t fair” was all Harry had to say to that.

For the first time since they arrived to where they were he noticed how much brighter it seemed here and Louis took at good look at his surrounding, he nearly choked on his breath as he finally got it. This is where Louis had encountered the beast the first time so long ago, he could faintly see the streetlamps further away. He was finally home. Harry had taken him to the outskirt of the forest.

He was going home.

Louis almost fell to his knees with how surreal it felt standing the exact place where it’d all begun, he spun around to look at Harry again who stood once again leaned up against a tree like a smug bastard and with a faint smirk on his cherry red lips. His eyes bright with mirth and it almost felt playful.

“You’re sure you can find you way back from here?” he asked him and nodded towards the direction where his house was. “Or you need help with finding that too?”

“No. Yeah, no, I know where I live. But yeah, thank you I guess” Louis scratched his arm awkwardly and looked down at the ground where he was switching his weight from foot to foot just to do something with himself.

“You’re welcome”

Louis was about to turn around when he remembered he still had Harry’s coat on, he began to slide the straps of the backpack off his shoulders when Harry was quick to stop him before he’d even begun.

“Keep it” he assured him and pushed himself away from the tree.

Louis shook his head at him. “I can’t keep it, it’s your jacket”

Harry chuckled as he turned around and began to leave. “Take it as an ‘’goodbye gift’’ if you want to”

There was no space for objectifying or complaining cause Harry was already gone when he’d ended the sentence, vanished in between the tall trees and naked bushes, camouflaged in the darkness like it swallowed him whole. Never to be seen again.

With a sigh Louis turned around to leave the nightmare inducing forest and he quickly noticed the paranoia growing bigger and bigger with each second he was alone out there, it sure was something _else_ without Harry beside him even if Louis would deny it to the day he dies. It ended with him looking over his shoulder every second as he sprinted outta there all while tripping every now and then in the ill fitting boots over fallen branches. He needed to get out.

The light from the street posts grew brighter the closer Louis came and fuck, he could see the big window there was his very own. His bedroom

“Fuck” he breathed out as he ran, the backpack seeming heavier than ever and weighing him down. He blinked once, twice, three time, trying to stop the tears from coming for the second time. But nothing could hold them back and Louis was powerless to stop them as a sob fought its way out from his closed up throat the closer he came to the house, it was all too much and he felt so small. “ _Shit_ ”

He fell to his knee at the edge of the forest where it met the concrete and scraped his knee pretty badly but Louis couldn’t feel it, the adrenaline pumping through his blood with full force so he just got up and continued running home. Nothing could stop him now, he was going home no matter how much his body protested and begged him to stop.

Taking twist and turns through alleyways and jumping over fences there most likely was very illegal to do until his stood at the backyard of his own house and was met with two big glass doors so he could stare directly into his living room there was dimly lit by a small lamp standing on the beside table. Each sob wrecked through his body and he fell to his knees as he stared at the house in disbelief.

“Dad!” he cried out as loud as he could with all the power he’d left in his body which wasn’t much. “Dad!”

It wasn’t long before the glass door was pushed to the side and there Mark was, standing in one of his overused plaid shirts and jeans with a rip on the tight but oh so familiar and missed.

“Louis” Mark whispered but Louis’ cry drowned it out. Shocked to see his own son who’d been gone for so long kneeling in the backyard, he was stood frozen with eyes wide open. It couldn’t be real.

It was first when Louis repeated ‘ _dad_ ’ in such a broken voice Mark’s brain started to kick in again in motion and he ran up to Louis, fell to his knees right in front of him to pull him in in a bone crushing hug Louis normally would’ve complained about any other day than this one. “Fuck, Louis. Louis, you’re here” he said unbelievable. “You’re really here”

“D-dad” Louis sobbed as he clung onto his father with all his might.

None of them noticed the deafening howl there could be heard in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit late but i hope you all had a great christmas, holiday and a festive new year. i sure had. fell asleep on a train on my way home from a new years party, wild.
> 
> this is the longest chapter ive ever written in my life... 11801 words... thats a lot.
> 
> sorry it took so long but my migraine had been acting up a lot lately which makes it pretty much impossible for me to look at a bright screen longer than one second without wanting to kill myself just to escape the pain in my head. its fun, trust me. 
> 
> quick questions cause im insecure, yall listen to the music i put at the top? and which device are you all reading on, im curious..
> 
> uwu xx


	14. for a little peace of mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: I’ve heard what happened to fizzy and my thoughts and prayers go out to the Tomlinson family, I can’t even remotely understand how they must feel but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost one of my sisters or my brother in such a young age. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and she’ll be missed dearly.

[The Beatles - I'm so tired](https://open.spotify.com/user/1156056312/playlist/2I5gGwYzs5RKwKt67NSlur?si=ZseGTg8uTf2yx4VDOywE_g)

  
  


 

The steam from the hot tea in his hands curled around his face in a welcoming heat as if it’s caressing him in the most soothinening way imaginable, it felt like a home and good days. A warm embrace he never knew he needed. His eyes was closed as he deeply inhaled the rich scent of the well known tea he’d drank for the most part of his life, always been the same brand and it wasn’t that god awful herbal tea he’d suffered through for so many endless days.

Everything was better than that.

Louis wasn’t even sure what the clock was anymore or how long he’s been sitting on the beat up and well used couch in their living room, it felt like he’d lost all sense of time these couple of days.

Mark and him hadn’t really spoken much since he’d dragged Louis’ useless body inside of the house and sat him down on the couch and gave him mug of tea that he kept on replacing every time it got anywhere near remotely empty. Louis might be on his fourth cup by then and he didn’t have the energy in him to tell his dad that the second mug was more than enough nor did he had the heart to. It felt like it’s something he needed to let his dad do. Fuss around and take care of him for a bit.

Nighttime must had fallen by now, that much he was sure of.

The television was turned on but was muted so Louis could hear his dad loud and clear, walking all over the place with the phone to his ear like it was glued onto the side of his face as he spoke to someone on the other line and all while he was walking in and out of the living room as if he was too restless to stay in one place longer than one second at the time. The blue eyed lad hadn’t cared enough to ask him who he’s talking but Louis heard his name being mentioned more that five time so it’s most likely about him.

What a surprise that was.

His dad came into the living room, left hand raised to his ear as he clung to the phone in his hand while his other kept  relentlessly running through his already tousled hair, it was beginning to look greasy from how much he’d kept touching and messing with it.

“I-I don’t know… No sir, I knew nothing of it” Mark’s eyebrows hung low on his face as he glanced towards his son on the couch with worried eyes and a slight frown painted on his face, it had not changed from that facial expression since Louis’ abrupt arrival. “One moment I was making sure the doors was locked and then I heard him outside in the backyard, I reckon couldn’t be more than three hours ago. I’m honestly not sure”

Louis sipped his tea as his eyes fluttered open to stare at his father who stood at the door frame with his hand scratching his neck. Their eyes met and Mark nodded toward the mug in Louis’ hand to ask him if he wanted more but Louis was quick to shake his head no and took a sip of the tea to emphasize he didn’t need anymore. Definitely not. What Louis really wanted was to get a shower to rinse off the bloody lavender smell there still clung on to him and was burning his nostrils like no other, get off any sort of scent that god forsaken village had left on him and especially the ones Harry had left on him while Louis’d held onto him while he’d ran through the forest, the strong scent from the alpha was still prominent on the borrowed clothes and his skin. He was sure his father could smell it too.

Wanted to clean his body from every little memory of that place and push it to the very back of his mind until it hopefully would become nothing but a faint memory and the scars they’d left on his body would be the only reminder of the village.

He couldn’t help himself but running his thumb over the small pink scar there’d formed over his eyebrow, a shiver went down his spine as he felt the bumpy skin underneath his thumb as his mind replayed the scene of exactly  _how_  he got that very scar. How the sharp edge of the stone had hit his head, splitted his skin open with its great force and knocked him unconscious within seconds after with its powerful impact. It most definitely will haunt Louis for the rest of his fucked up life no matter how much he wanted to forget it, a constant reminder right there on his face.

But life goes on.

Suddenly his father sat down in front of him on the coffee table, still talking to the other person on the other line while his eyes scanned Louis face, like he was searching for something Louis couldn’t quite give him.

“I’ll make sure to tell him that, I’m not sure he’ll agree with it though… Sir, I’ll try my best. We’ll be in contact later… Thank you” he hung up and his hand reached out for Louis’ face. He gently took Louis’ chin in his hand as he put the phone down on his thigh, eyes fluttering all over his son’s face and Louis probably never felt this uncomfortable under his father’s heavy gaze in his entire life. Louis wasn’t sure what to do with himself and where to look so he just stared at the wall behind his father as he tried to ignore the stare of his father. Not long after his hand fell from Louis’ chin but Mark’s eyes remained on his face and Louis was sure he looked like a right mess. Dark purple bags underneath his eyes there seems to have become a permanent thing for him, a couple of new scars added to the collection of his and his hair all over over the place and longer than it has ever been in his entire life. Louis wasn’t even sure himself what he must’ve looked like, it felt like it’s been a light years ago since he’d looked in a mirror and got a good look at his haunting reflection he sure he’d be met with.

Mark shook his head slightly. “What happened to you?” he asked with such a broken tone to his voice that it made Louis look down at his own lap just to get away from his penetrating stare.

“I’m fine” Louis whispered but loud enough for his dad to hear it. He really didn't have the energy for this.

_He was fine._

With a deep sigh and with another shake to the head, Mark pushed himself up from the sitting position on the table so his was standing over Louis. His shoulders tense and for the first time Louis noticed how…  _tired_ his dad looked. It looked like he hadn’t showered for at least four days or maybe more, a dark discolouration had started to take place under his eyes from sleep deprivation, skin paler than he remembered it from the lack of sun and the scruff he normally had going on had turned into a full blown beard by then. The exact opposite from what Mark normally looked like and Louis couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

The last time he’d seen his father let himself go in such a similar way was when his mate and Louis’ mum passed away, when Mark was at his lowest point he’s ever been in his entire life and he couldn’t take care of himself nor did he care to. The withdrawals of losing a mate was too strong for even the alpha to handle and he let himself fall into a dark place. Life was falling apart around them faster than they’d anticipated, all Mark did was work and sleep (if even that) like he was in some sort of trance he couldn’t break free from and Louis stood from the sideline and watched his dad slowly become nothing but the shell of a human he used to be with no way to help him out of his slumber.

However something had shaken him free from the mind controlling stages of grieve and woken him up, a month or so after the funeral of Johanna Tomlinson, Mark slowly started becoming himself again. Smiled more and met up with old friends. Returning to life.

Even though their business was going down hill he still tried to fight through it and found a resolution - moving to Wiltshire and start over again - and even though Louis didn’t paticuliar liked that idea they still did it.

So seeing his dad losing himself like that again after Louis ‘’disappearances’’ broke something inside of the omega, he never wishes for his dad to turn into that person ever again.

“You need to tell me, Louis, I just wanna help you” Mark pressed but Louis shook his head at him. “Let me help you”

“I rather not, I just wanna go to bed” Louis sighed and afterwards drank what was left in the cup of tea, it slightly burned his mouth but at least it was a feeling he was somewhat used to. If he’s dad would just drop it for now it would save Louis for a lot of emotional turmoil for at least a couple of minutes or so. He hadn’t really made up his mind if he was gonna tell what had happened to anyone yet, the fear of no one believing him and deeming him crazy was overwhelming to the point where Louis wanted to curl into a ball of self doubt and fucking crippling anxiety, keep his daunting secret to himself and never let it see the dawn of light ever again. However the fact that  _they_  were still out there, hiding in the forest and getting away with all these murder cases and disappearances for so many years, Louis couldn’t live with himself if he just did  _nothing_. He wanted justices, not only for himself but for everyone else there didn’t make it out alive like he did.

He was in war with himself on this one and he wasn’t sure which one was winning so far. Nothing made sense anymore for the young omega

Louis was just so fucking  _tired_ of everything.

Too lost in his own mess of thoughts, Louis hadn’t noticed his dad sitting down beside him on the sofa until the seat slightly dipped down beside him. His head was leaned back and he was staring at the ceiling, a deep sigh left his mouth as he bit his lip raw with concern for his stubborn son.

“You’ll have to tell me sooner or later, just so you know it” his dad informed his as he turned his head to look at Louis with one of his eyebrows slightly lifted.

Louis nodded his head. “I know” he simply said.

“Then why won’t you just tell me now, get it over with already?” Mark asked his son with a hint of desperation in his tone of voice.

The blue eyed lad wasn’t sure what to tell his dad to satisfy him enough to just stop asking for now, every sentence Louis came up with was just empty words without any meaning behind them whatsoever.

As an answer Louis simply shrugged which made his dad sigh loudly again with a shake to his head by Louis silence as an explanation.

A couple of minutes was spent in complete silence as they both stared at the muted television but never really following what was going on, neither of them cared enough to turn the sound back on. The silence was thick with tension and Louis could feel his dad changing position every second or so, shoulders tense as he scratched his neck and beard awkwardly while fidgining. His eyes kept flickering to Louis and back to the TV.

 _For fuck sake, just spit it out already_ , Louis wanted to yell at him. It was pretty clear Mark had something else to say but wasn’t sure how to put it out there but the obvious staring his father had going on was annoying him to the point where Louis was close to start yelling at him and begging him to stop it.

How long did Louis had to sit there and suffer through this awkward silence before he could just walk outta the room and up to his bedroom? Sleep felt like a foreign concept and something Louis would really enjoy doing at the moment, tired to his bones. It was a wonder he could even keep his eyes opened at this point and time. How long has it been since he’s gotten a good night of sleep? Seen his own bed?

Mark straightened his back one more time before he turned his whole body towards Louis, a determined look in his eyes as if he’d build enough courage up in his mind to finally start talking about whatever he had on his mind and what was bugging him. This could go two ways and Louis wasn’t ready to found out which way it would end up with. 

“The investigators who’s on your case recommend for us to get to the hospital as soon as possible, they’d like for a nurse to check up on you and see if you’ve gotten some internal damage or something along that way. Anyways, hospital.We should probably leave soon” Mark said and Louis sat there and blinked at him once, twice before a frown took over his face by the mere thought of even getting remotely near a hospital.

Louis shook his head. “Tell them no, I don’t wanna speak with anyone right now. I just gotten home and I really just wanna sleep”

“This is not a question about whether you want to or not here, you need to. End of conversation” Mark insisted as he pushed himself up from the couch again and stood looming over Louis, arms crossed across his chest while he look at Louis with his eyebrow low on his face.

“It can wait for tomorrow” Louis mumbled and copied Mark with the crossed arms across his chest. The two of them darkly stared at each other as they waited for one of them to finally give in and drop it which most likely wasn’t gonna happen any time soon.

“It really can’t” his father assured him and tried to get the point across with his son but Louis was having none of it. Bloody hell, he hasn’t even been home for more than five hours and here his dad was, trying to rush him to the hospital like he was crying in pain or something crazy like that! And internal damage? What a lot of bullshit that was, couldn’t he see Louis was fine, it’s not like he’s bleeding from anywhere or coughing up blood. He was fine.

_He was fine._

It was so unnecessary Louis couldn’t help himself but scuff at his dad. “I’m not going, I’m fine” he grumbled.

His dad huffed and finally lost his cool. “Louis, you’re not fine. You’ve been gone for bleeding 13 days or god knows how long! You were in heat while you were gone and I don’t know what happened to you since you won’t tell me anything. So either you raise your arse from this sofa or so lord help me, I’ll drag you outta here kicking and screaming. We are going and that final”

Louis stood up from the couch and was overwhelmed by the lightness and dizziness he got from the sudden movement, he hoped Mark didn’t notice it as he tried to hide it as well as he could from him. “I haven’t even been home for a fucking day and showered yet and you’re already demanding things from me! I’m not going, what can’t you understand by that?” Louis yelled at his dad with flailing arms, blood rushing to his head and fuck, Louis could really use some sleep. If only his father saw it like that too. “When I say it can wait for tomorrow, it can wait for tomorrow. This is _my_  choice and don’t you dare take that away from me like everything else you’ve already ripped away from me”

So lightheaded.

The omega from deep within him whined loudly as Louis yelled at the alpha in front of him, begging Louis to just calm down and take it easy. It was still very much on edge from his recent heat and would be like that for the couple of days, resting close to the surface but if there’s one thing the blue eyed lad was good at, it was to ignore his basic instincts from the years upon years of practice he had.

Mark shook his head for the hundred times that night before he spoke. “This isn’t about us moving to Wiltshire so don’t make it about that. For all I know you could’ve died, Louis, and I wouldn’t had known until they’d found your body in some ditch. We tried everything to find you but you disappeared without a trace and we had no evidence of any sort to help us. We’re lucky enough you came back in one piece, I just wanna know if you’re alright. Is that too much to ask?”

“Why won’t you just take my words for it when i say I’m  _fine_. I’m alive and here, isn’t that enough?” Louis tried reasoning but he knew it wasn’t enough for his father as he yet again crossed his arms and gave Louis a look there said enough. This was a battle Louis already had lost before it even had begun but dammit, Louis will not go down without trying at least.

“You aren’t a doctor so no, it isn’t enough. Get your shoes on, we’re going” and with those final words he walked right past Louis and out to hallway to collect both of their shoes so they could get going.

Louis should’ve seen it coming from miles away, whatever he said to his dad would fly right past his head as the man had already made his mind up with the situation and what was going to happen. He couldn’t have said anything different to change his father’s mind, Mark would still had ended up dragged him out of the house ‘’kicking and screaming’’ as he so kindly put it, into the car and to the hospital whether Louis wanted to or not. Being 19 apparently meant shit all to his dad.

It’s fucking ridiculous, the omega thought to himself as Mark came back into the living room and threw a pair of Louis shoes right in front of the boy, gave him a pointed look there said ‘ _either you take those shoes on or I will do it for you_ ’, Louis knew he would. He mumbly cursed under his breath at his dad as he bend down to tie his shoes like a small child not getting it in his way. The only thing missing was Louis stumping his leg in protest and whining like a toddler.

 _Fucking ridiculous_.

 

 

**_*****_ **

  


The drive to the nearest hospital was high with tension and with anger and frustration from Louis’ side as the two of them drove down the dimly lit road, whenever Mark tried to spark up a conversation Louis shot him down with a heated glare and a dark frown on his face which quickly shut up the alpha beside him instantly, his dad was quick to figure out that Louis probably wasn’t up for conversation. The blue eyed lad had tried to turn his whole body away from his dad while being strapped to the seat by the seat belt as he had crossed his arms tightly across his chest and pouting (if you ask Louis he was most definitely  _not_ pouting) all while staring outta the window and the scenery they passing by in a high speed so it all blurred together into one picture.

They drove past the very forest Louis had been kept hostage in for who knows how many days, without him even noticing it he’d tried to search out and see if he could see the village where the  _cult_  was but as far as the omega could see with his own eyes was tall trees and darkness there seemed to be endless, it almost seemed like it was impossible for the sun to ever touch the land of the forest ever again. Just never ending darkness.

The only thing there lit up the dark road was the few street lamps there illuminated their surroundings in a faint glow, it didn’t help much and it felt like the night was swallowing them whole.

Louis wasn’t sure how long the drive was to the emergency room or how long they spend in the suffocating tension filled prison they called a car. It must have been a hour ago since their arrival at the hospital as Louis was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed with his legs swinging back and forth in boredom while he was taking in the surrounding of the room with its bright white. The constant smell of detergent and bleach with a mix of hand sanitiser was burning his nostrils and it was a terrible combination with the lavender scent still clinging onto him and the mix of his own body sweat and omega scent there seemed stronger than ever, it made his head spin and made him feel slightly nauseous with the intensity of it all. They had him change out of his normal clothing and into a blue hospital gown there was open on the back, letting the chilly air hit his naked back and gave him goosebumps all over his body in it wake. Louis wasn’t sure where they’d taken his clothes but this felt oh so familiar.

His father was sitting on a old and well used chair in the corner of the room and was nervously fiddling with his phone as he checked on Louis every second and asking him if  _he’s okay_ and if  _he needed anything he just have to say so_  but Louis just shrugged as an answer to that as he still didn’t feel like talking to his dad at the moment. Mark had left the room approximately four times whenever the phone started to ring, the call didn’t last longer than five minutes. Louis hadn’t cared enough to ask who the caller was, he was pretty sure he father would’ve told him if it was important to Louis and it felt like he was a private talk since he left the hospital room every time.

A pretty beta nurse had came in roughly ten minutes ago to draw his blood, check his blood pressure and heart rate and everything in between that. Louis hadn’t asked questions but simply followed her order so he could get outta there faster. His bed was calling him.

And his shower.

A deep sigh left his mouth as he tilted his head backwards with his eyes closed for a second or two while he stretched his legs out as far as he could, his joints of his knees popping in protest with the sudden movement. Couldn’t the nurse come back already and tell them (read: his father) there’s nothing wrong with him and everything was normal, that he was fine.

_He was fine._

Yet again the phone in his father’s lap started ringing and Louis couldn’t help himself but roll his eyes at his father’s apologetic eyes as he pointed towards the door over his shoulder before leaving him all alone in the room for the fifth time. Louis could fend for himself, thank you very much. He wasn’t completely useless.

The door clicked shot behind his father and the only thing Louis heard before the door closed was ‘’ _Hello Officer Smi-_ ’’.

So he was talking to the police, probably the very same who said Louis needed to go to the hospital in the first place. Great.

Was they apart of it all just like Liam Payne was? Who could he trust anymore? He had thought Liam was an ordinary police officer but it turned out he was nothing but a fraud all along, working behind the scene and probably hiding all the evidences so the police had no way of solving the cases. So they had no way in finding Louis again and he would’ve ended up like all the other unsolved cases over the years.

Louis really wished he’d his phone so he could do something else with his time beside watching these cold and naked, white walls of the room he was assigned as he waited for the nurse to come bare the news of what was gonna happen. At this time and rate he’d end up dying of boredom rather than anything else his father might think was wrong with him, the room didn't even have television Louis could waste his time with and numb his thoughts.

But no of course, Louis had lost his phone.

Again.

He knew it was somewhere in that village in the forest when they’d confiscated all his thing, together with his clothing and shoes he never got back either so it was basically gone for good and he’d never get it back. Louis was never gonna step his foot back there ever again if he could help it.

He couldn’t fucking afford a new phone though.

The door opened with a soft clicking noise and ripped Louis outta his own head of thoughts, the nurse came in with someone beside her, a man with a white lab coat of some sort who must’ve been the doctor, in came following them was his father and two men Louis never seen before right behind them. The two men had both dark clothing on and a badge hanging around their neck, police officers. Louis gave his dad a disapproving glare as they all got closer to the bed the omega was sitting on, the doctor held onto a clipboard and flipped the pages every now and then as he read over what was most likely be Louis files. They was all standing in a eerily silence as Louis waited for one of them to just start talking and tell him what was going on.

Three new scents stank up the place and was messing with his head and made it pound with a force there was to be reckoned with, they were all alphas and their neutral pheromones was all mixing together so Louis was forced to breathe through his mouth for his inner omega not to start whining from being in their presence. Haven’t they fucking heard of scent blockers?

The doctor coughed to clear his throat before he started talking. “Hello Louis, I’m doctor Dorian and you’ve met nurse Morgan already” he reached over so he could shake Louis’ hand, it was firm and short. “Your blood pressure looks fine, maybe a bit high but that’s normal for a boy in your age and with what there’s happened to you. As far as I can see there isn’t anything alarming beside you’re bit underweight, dehydrated and… we found something in your blood which can only come from-”

“Heat suppressants, I know” Louis cut him off as he already knew what he was going to say, what every doctor and nurse has told him whenever they’d looked over his vital. ‘’ _We’ve found a chemical in your blood there comes from the medicine suppressants_ ’’, it was a wonder it wasn’t in Louis’ documents already with how many times they’ve been over that.

Doctor Dorian hummed. “I can see you're aware of it, how long has it been since you’ve last taken them?” he asked as he wrote something down on the clipboard before he looked up at Louis again with his questioning eyes, they were grey with age. His father was awkwardly hanging behind them beside the two police men, the blue eyed lad could see them whispering back a forth but not loud enough so Louis could hear it since the nurse Morgan and doctor Dorian was speaking over the in a louder volume.

Louis shrugged as he looked down at his hands on his lap, he wrung them before intertwined them. “I don’t know” he mumbled. “Two weeks, maybe. I’m not sure”

The man in front of him nodded and yet again wrote something down on the papers. “Good, keep it going like that and it’ll be outta your system within two months or so” he assured Louis with a soft smile and a pointed look.

As if Louis was gonna stop taking his suppressants and scent blockers. If they weren’t here at this hospital he would’ve probably already popped three by now just to catch up to all the days he’d missed. It was the same song he heard whenever he visited the doctors, they all said the same thing over and over again like Louis was gonna listen to them this time around and stop taking the heat preventing drugs. If Louis had wanted to stop he probably would’ve done it by now but whatever. He was fine.

_He was fine._

“Have you showered yet?” one of the policemen asked from behind the doctor, he facial expression indifferent. Louis looked at him confused as he looked between the doctor, nurse his father and then the two officers. What kind of question was that?

Louis shook his head. “What does that have to do with anything?” he spat.

The doctor turned around to give the two police men a dark glare. “How about you let me do the examination and you guys step outside for a minute or so, hm?” he sounded done with them, almost as much as Louis was which made the omega pleased in some sort of twisted way. They weren’t welcome here.

Good.

The two of them gave a short nod before they left the room and shut the door behind them. Doctor Dorian turned around again towards Louis but this time with his face more… soft and something else Louis couldn’t quite point out.

“Louis” doctor Dorian said slowly to make sure he had the omega’s fully attention on him before he continued, he walked a bit closer towards Louis before he laid the clipboard on the bed, face down so Louis had no possible way of reading his files before he started speaking again. “With what your father has told me and how high the suppressant levels was in your system we are a bit... worried, I’ll need your fully consents to get through the next step, if you want to, Miss Morgan can do it too and you’ll get a advocate in here too if that’s needed and you want to, of course. But what’s most important is that we got your approval to go through it before we do anything, it’s nothing you’re forced to do and if so you choose to go through it, you only have to say stop and we’ll do so” he explained. Louis looked at him with confusion plain on his face as he wasn’t sure what was going. An advocate? His consent to what? What the bloody hell was going on?

His eyes flickered back and forth between the nurse and the doctor as if the answer would magically appear out of nowhere. His dad was standing against the wall and saying absolutely nothing and it wasn’t exactly helping Louis’ worry about the whole situation and how clueless he felt, it felt like doctor Dorian was talking in riddles all of suddenly and Louis had no clue what the answer was to it all.

Miss Morgan came forward and laid a hand on Louis’ shoulder with a reassuring smile on her nude painted lips which did nothing to sooth the omega in his stressful state this was leaving him in. “What doctor Dorian is trying to say is if you’d let us and if you’d like to, we’ll gladly undergo a ‘Sexual Assault Examination Kit’ on you and if so you wanna go through it we’ll call an advocate in here immediately-” she informed and droned on but Louis completely zoned out as she kept on talking and babbling on about all this new information that was too much for Louis to even take in, too lost in his own head. A big, red alarm was going off inside of the omega and all he wanted to do was run out of this very room and outta here, far, far away from everything and from what they were saying.

Louis was sure he cut her off mid sentence but he didn’t care. “I’m not gonna do a fucking rape kit, no one has touched me!” he yelled out loud and it echoed inside of the room, he forcefully shrugged the nurse hand off his shoulder. He didn’t even wanna come here in the first place and now they wanted to make him do a rape kit, this was by far crossing the line.

“Louis” his dad warned from the other side of the room as he pushed himself off of the wall and slowly stalked closer. “We only wants what’s best for-”

“Shut the fuck up, what do you know what’s best for me?!” he exclaimed aloud as he violently wrenched himself from the doctor who tried to calm him down from his outburst, this was uncalled for on so many levels Louis couldn’t even explain. No one touched him and no one was gonna touch him as long as he had a say about it, he was 19! They couldn’t force him to do anything, not even his father. “This isn’t what fucking best for me”

_He was fine._

_He was fine._

His father came closer and closer until he was standing right in front of the omega, he tried to reach out for his son but Louis was quick to forcefully push Mark’s reaching hands away from him as he hissed ‘ _don’t touch me_ ’ under his breath at his him. “It’s just to make sure” he tried reassuring his son but Louis wouldn’t listen to a word his dad had to say, he was fucking fuming.

“No!” he yelled out loud.

Doctor Dorian stepped in between the two of them with his hand slightly raised up in a peaceful manner, slowly looking back and forth from Louis to Mark. Nurse Morgan had stepped as far away from the situation as she could without leaving the room. Louis’ breath came out jerky and his heart rate was going up in alarming pace as he stared his father down who was standing in front of him. “Mr. Tomlinson, how about you go outside for a minute so we can talk with Louis, it’s just for a minute or two” the apha doctor said calmly.

Mark gave a curt and silent nod as he knew he wasn’t wanted, leaving his eyes on Louis for a bit longer before he turned around and left the room. The officers was probably still standing outside there and waiting for the perfect moment when the nurse and doctor would leave the room so they could approche Louis, he already dreaded it.

As his dad left the room a blanket of quietness fell over the room and Louis unconsciously sighed out a relieved breath as he could feel the stress slowly leaving his body together with Mark, something inside of Louis shuddered just by the mere thought of his father being inside of the same room as him while he spoke to the hospital staff. He knew it wasn’t fair to his own father but he’d really like to keep this to himself for as long as he could, just for a bit.

Louis folded his arms across his chest as if to protect himself while his gaze swang frantically from Doctor Dorian to nurse Morgan and then back again, waiting for just one of them to start speaking already so he could get this over with and go home.

The doctor sighed out loud and nurse Morgan started walking closer towards the two of them again from the other side of the room, Louis guesses she wasn’t the most confrontational person and would most likely stay back and watch everything unfold whenever someone was arguing.

“Still not doing the rape kit thing, just so you know it” Louis informed them and broke the thick silence.

Nurse Morgan nodded her head, her short, curly hair bounced around her head while doing so. “And no one is forcing you to, this is entirely your choice” she said.

“But you must know with how high the doses of suppressants in your blood is concerning and must’d going on for awhile and you being in heat while you were gone made us jump to conclusions. We only want to help you” Dorian continued where Morgan left off, speaking soft and slow so they were sure Louis understood every word they spoke. The ‘ _and of course, with how high the numbers are you’d be unconscious during your heats, your omega is taking over you_ ’ was left unsaid even though it could be read clearly between the lines and it was something Louis was familiar with. After all, this is all his doing and his fault - if you wanna call it that -, he knew exactly what’s going to happen when he started taking the toxic drugs, everyone warned him off of it but Louis was never known to be the kind of person there ever listened to people’s advice to begin with and he probably wasn’t gonna begin now.

He knew that mixing the suppressants and scent blockers was a pernicious cocktail there promised no good in the future- exactly why most pharmacies didn’t sell them and almost every pharmacist denied selling them to people - , knew that it was harming his body and his inner omegas in a way no one wished upon anyone but hell, Louis did what he had to do to mask and get his omega under  _his_  control for the time being. He could survive not being quite ‘’ _there_ ’’ during his heat, they weren’t a pleasant thing going through anyways so why would he want to be awake while having them? Louis would be perfectly fine never having them again in his life, if not more than fine.

But unfortunately life keeps screwing Louis over every third month.

If only he was born a beta things would’ve been so much easier

“‘Aight, still not gonna do it, mate. No one touched me” Louis assured them as he straighten his back and gave the two of them a look there said that he wouldn’t wanna discuss this any further.

“Of course, if you’re sure. Then I guess there isn’t any reason for us to keep you here any longer than needed” Doctor Dorian surrendered at that, his shoulders slightly dropping a bit. Perhaps with disappointment but Louis will probably never find out. Hopefully this will be the last time he’d ever see this hospital in his entire life, it felt like he’s been here too much in such a short span of time. “One thing you should know before you make your final decision and get yourself admitted out of here, if you choose to do the Sexual Assault Examination Kit now we could see if someone in fact did touch you while you were in heat, even if you knew it or not. The evidences of someone’s DNA on you would be stronger since you haven’t showered yet and if you decides to do it later on it would be close to impossible to find something on you” he further explained to Louis as if it would help him change his mind about the whole ordeal but Louis’d already made his mind up. He’s seen enough  _Special Victim Unit_ to know what was going on and how the process was, he knew what he’s saying no to.

It would definitely help his case if he decided to tell the two officers what’d happened and where he’s been for so long, the evidences was right there on him and his clothes, the only thing Louis has to do is accept the offer and go through with it.

He just can’t.

It would be a waste of resources to do it on him.

Louis silently nodded his head before his eyes fell to his lap, arms still held tightly around his torso, the flimsy material of hospital gown was making loud noises at the minimal touch and movement. The doctor and nurse understood the hint and gave up on the subject. They knew this was his final choice and they couldn’t help him anymore than he wanted to.

Doctor Dorian told the omega he’ll get the papers he’ll need to sign before he could leave, that his clothes was in the small closet near the door, shook his hand as a final goodbye before he left the room altogether we the nurse right behind him. And in came his father with the two officers right behind like two lost puppies, here we fucking go.

Louis stared at them with a blank gaze while they got closer and closer to the hospital bed he was sitting on, facial expression void of any emotions. His father awkwardly scratched his arm as he sighed deeply.

“I guess you didn’t do it” Mark said and broke the silence between them all. Louis simply nodded his head yet again as an answer.

The two police men walked towards Louis. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, I’m Officer Smith and this is my partner Officer Murphey. We’re the ones who’s been tryna find you these couple of days, if you don’t mind we’ll like to ask you some questions” they showed Louis their official badges, the exact same Liam showed him. Officer Smith was a tall and dark haired man with beginning wrinkles across his face, probably from the stress and being under pressure this kind of job gives you, beginning grey hair at his temple and was build burly and muscular as far Louis could tell. Meanwhile Murphey was a short man with bald spots but somehow younger, unfortunately genes.

Louis kept quiet as he stared at the two elder men in front of him, his father was standing a bit behind them and just looking over the exchange, knowing his son Louis could lash out if pushed too hard. Like a caged animal.

“Okay... “ Smith mumbled and pulled a notepad from his jacket. “We’ll start sim-”

“I’m not gonna tell you anything. As soon as I get those papers I need to sign, I’ll leave this place” Louis cut the police officer off mid sentences, his words filled with poison as he spat them out. He just wanted to get home and forget what’s happened just for a little bit, act like nothing was going on and take a long shower and finally get some sleep before life would crumble down between his ears and catch up with him. Just… escape for a little while. These question was inevitable whether they asked by the two police men or his dad, he needed to answer them some time in the future but he hadn’t made his mind up yet.

Everything was just a big mess.

Officer Smith nodded slightly as he harshly breathed out of his nose loud enough to Louis could hear it, folded the notepad up again and put it back in his pocket while Officer Murphey grumbled something under his breath Louis couldn’t quite catch but it probably wasn’t the nicest thing he had to say, he looked like he wanted to spend his time on everything else than a petulant teenager like Louis and the feeling was very much mutual. No one’s forcing him to be here, it was his career choice.

“How about we do this another day?” Officer Smith said while Officer Murphey kept quiet and stayed angry looking. “We’ll come by tomorrow when he’s slept a little and isn’t too shaken up about it” he told Louis’ dad and completely ignoring the omega, he even turned his whole body away from him as he spoke to Mark like Louis couldn’t hear him and like he wasn’t standing right. In. Front. Of. Him.

Fucking a.

And if it would change the outcome of this, this was so bloody stupid and meaningless. There was no need to blow this out of proportion more than it already was. He was home, couldn’t they just accept it at that? The police didn’t need to get involved with all of this.

_He was fine._

The two officers and his dad was talking with muted voices, probably about him but Louis couldn’t care less. He was just ready to get the hell outta there without looking bad, he was so done with everything by that point so they could talk all the shite they want as long as he finally gets home and didn’t need to spend a second longer sitting in a flimsy hospital gown.

They shook his father’s hand before they all together left the room without saying anything to Louis.

Fucking knotheads.

  


**_****_ **

  


It wasn’t long after the two officers left the room Louis got the hell outta there, he had quickly changed out of the flimsy hospital gown and into his own clothing, the clothing they had given him back at the village. Harry’s scent was strong as ever on the sweatshirt he’d borrowed, the lingering scent of burning pinewood and a undertone of something spicy Louis couldn’t quite point out to save his life. Almost cinnamony if you might call it that. He’s already dreading to put his dirty clothes back on his body and his father would hundred percent ask him who the scent belonged to and why Louis was reeking of it.

Which he did.

Louis ignored his dads questions all the way home, they went from ‘ _what’s that smell?_ ’ to ‘ _who does it belong to?_ ’ and everything between that, Louis’ only answer was a harsh breath out of his nose as he’d turned his whole body away from his father, he tried to curl his whole body together on the small seat, in a protective manner while he stared out of the window into the dark of the night. Each breath he took fogged up the window before it quickly disappeared again.

The only time he answered was when Mark had asked, for what felt like the twentieth time since they started the car and drove away from the hospital, ‘ _how are you?_ ’ which Louis was quick to snap right back with his spiteful words.

“I’m fucking fine, stop asking”

_He was fine._

His inner omega was scratching at his inside, whining in his head loud and clear and nothing made sense.

_He was fine._

Sleep hadn’t come as easy as he’d thought when they finally got home, not even a shower had lindered his loud thoughts but it did help him finally get rid of the awful smell of lavender on his body as he’d ran his body wash (the one without any sort of perfume in it and left him smelling like nothing) all over him, removing any scent there’s lingering on him and turning his skin red from irritation ‘cause of his violent scrubbing to make sure it was all gone.

Louis had finally got a glimpse of himself when he’d stepped outta the shower, with his towel wrapped around his hips and he looked exactly like what he thought he might had looked like, like a fucking mess.

His long fringe was plastered to his forehead and dripping down the bridge of his nose, his hair was curling around his ears and was just reaching his shoulders now. He’d lost a lot of weight since they’d moved to Wiltshire and what little chub he had in his face was completely gone by then. He was all narrow shoulders and collarbones sticking worrisome out, slender everything. Louis couldn’t recognize himself and what he’d turned into.

It’s not like he’s ever been happy with the way his body looked, he had the body of an omega, with his slender waist and wide hips there’s made to carry children without any trouble but he didn’t even have that anymore. He hadn’t even noticed how his body had started to change and the blue eyed lad wasn’t sure if it was from how little he’d eaten these past days or if the suppressant was starting to mess with his hormones and body in a way he finally had hope would happen. What he’d always wished was gonna happen.

He was starting to look like a beta.

But now when he was seeing with his own two eyes he wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden change, he knew it was impossible for him to change gender and no sort of medicine out there would ever make it possible. He’d never heard of anyone who’s body and complex had started to  _change_ because of the suppressants, Louis would make sure to google anything about that later. He couldn’t be the only one who this has happened to.

Louis ran a hand through his hair to get it under control as he sat on the edge of his bed with his duvet a mess around him, his t-shirt was falling down his left shoulder in the process and exposing his collarbone. The floorboard was cold underneath his naked feet like it always was and it was a welcoming feeling. Familiar if so.

He hadn’t slept much, less than four hours since he just had kept twisting and turning the rest of the night. Getting a full night of sleep was apparently only wishful thinking from Louis side since it felt close to impossible falling asleep. His thoughts wouldn’t shut up no matter how much he hoped. And the fucking strong scent from the sweater and the jacket there was thrown into the corner of the room had stank his room up, Harry’s scent. When the clock has stricken 4 am Louis had almost thrown it out of the window just so he could bloody sleep.

After Louis had stared at the door for ten minutes, he had finally gather enough energy to push himself up from his sleep warm bed. He walked over to the dresser and pulled the first hoodie he saw out and pulled it over his head, making a bigger mess out of his hair. That’s what he gets from falling asleep with wet hair. He found a pair of sweatpants on the floor and pulled them on, he had to tighten the string around his hips tighter than he remember he used to and perhaps should that should’ve worried him just a bit but the omega just push it to the back of his mind like everything else.

It could wait.

Like every day, Louis popped two heat suppressants and a scent blocker with some water before he doused his whole body in scent hiding spray. It was his little ritual.

As he opened the door and was meet with the staircase Louis could hear hushed voices from the floor below, more than just his father’s. Who could be over this early?

The staircase was equally as freezing as Louis room and it groaned loudly as he walked down.

The kitchen light was on and Louis could only see his father’s back as he walked closer, his body and brain was craving coffee. But what he was met with made Louis groan loudly as he threw his head back, a few curse words emptying from his mouth.

“For fuck sake, I haven’t even had breakfast yet” he complained as he walked further into the kitchen. Officer Smith and Murphey was sitting at the table in front of Mark and sipping their coffee like it was the most normal thing to do.

“Good morning, Louis” Mark said and completely ignoring Louis’ potty mouth. He just kept eating his buttered toast like every morning, the only thing missing was him flickering the pages of the new paper.

The two police men echoed his father and Louis wanted to turn around and tell them to shut their mouth, this was in fact not a good morning anymore. Couldn’t he just get some peace and quiet? Haven’t they heard of ‘ _time heals wounds_ ’?

Louis prepared his coffee in his cup, the steam warming his cold cheeks before he turned around to stare at the table. He stole the last piece of toast on his father plate and bit into it before Mark could complain.

The omega gave the two strangers a blank stare. “So what do you want?” he asked them and took a sip of his coffee, it burned the roof of his mouth but he tried not to flinch from the feeling. He took another bite of the, now cold, toast.

Officer Murphey cleared his throat as he put the old and ugly ceramic mug down, probably one of those his mum had bought at some marked years and years ago. So he was gonna be the man who spoke today, huh? If Louis remember him he was… awfully quiet and prissy the last time he saw him. “We came by to ask those question we didn’t quite finish at the hospital” he explained. ‘ _quite finished_ ’? Louis didn’t even let them ask any. “So if you let us” the ‘ _and keep quiet this time around_ ’ was left unsaid but Louis knew it was there. “We’ll like to ask you some questions about your disappearance, if that’s alright with you” he finished.

Louis nodded understanding. “Ah,  _those_  questions. Sorry lads, can’t help you there but I hope you have a nice rest of your day though”

As Louis was about to walk out of the room and leave it with that, his dad hissed his name and made him stop all together. Of course it couldn’t ever be that easy, he was after all Louis Tomlinson. It was like he attracted fucking problems wherever he goes.

Like a moth to a light bulb.

“Sit down” his father commanded and pushed the chair out beside him with his foot, it made an awful screeching sound across the floor there made Louis slightly flinch from the attack on his ears while the three alphas didn’t move at all.

With a protesting huff Louis sat down on the chair and sipping his coffee in silence as he waited for the officers to speak up.

There’s so many others thing Louis would rather been doing with his time that morning than sit here and listen to two officers asking him invasive questions after invasive question.

Officer Smith pulled out his trusty notepad from his inner pocket together with a pen, flickered it open to a blank page. Louis couldn’t tell you why but it annoyed him to no ends.

“Your father told us that you have some friends back in London, Stanley Lucas and Calvin Rodgers, and we contacted them immediately to see you’ve been there but none of them knew of where you where and-” Murphey begun while Smith wrote down but Louis was quick to interrupt him. He didn’t have time for this.

“Cut the chase, won’t ya. What do you really wanna know, where I’ve been? Why did I run? Did someone abduct me? Don’t drag them into this, they were never a part of it to being with” Louis said slowly and angry, almost like he hissed the words out at them. The omega inside of him begged him to calm down but fuck that. They weren’t about to drag two innocent people into this on his behalf.

“So you were hiding out in London?” Murphey asked and clearly jumped to conclusion.

_Don’t put words in my mouth._

Louis shook his head. “No, I never said that. I was in fact no where near London”

_I was a whole lot closer than you might think._

“Then where was you?” Smith cut in, finally looking up from the small notepad in his hands.

And there it was, the winner question Louis wasn’t sure he was ready to answer. Let it out in the open and let these people, his father, know where exactly he’s been without sounding like a complete lunatic and get him locked up with all the other sickos. The honest answer would be so unbelievable they wouldn’t even blink twice before deeming him unstable, that this experience had put him under so much stress he was finally losing his mind and his omega psyche was breaking. Louis didn’t know if he was ready for that yet, if he ever was ready for that.

“Wilton” he simply answered.

Officer Murphey hummed. “And what were doing there?” he asked.

“Nothing”

“Louis, has someone threaten you to keep quiet of where you’ve been? Cause if so, your hundred percent honesty would help us getting them caught, no one’s gonna hurt you” Smith promised him and Harry’s words popped into his head. ‘ _I want to see if you’re going to show me what you're worth and keep your word_ ’ was what he’d said. It wasn’t exactly threatening him per se, not anywhere near close to be honest but it did something to Louis. Was that what they’d said to all the others too? Hadn’t they kept quiet and ended up with the same faith, ten feet under and forgotten? A shiver went up Louis’ spine from the chilling thought. They had ears everywhere, Liam was after all in the force.

The more he thought about it, the more it felt like a promise of if Louis told anyone they knew.

“They’re in the forest” he said before he could stop himself and Louis quickly snapped his jaw close before he could say anything. He wanted to whine loudly, fuck. This was so stupid.

He should’ve just shut up.

“Who?” they all said the same time, even his father who couldn’t help himself but jump in and ask.

“The people who took me” Louis further explained vaguely. When was too much information?

“There was more than one person?” Louis was beginning to zone out so he wasn’t sure who’s asking. “How many?”

“A whole village” When was too much information? “T-they are still out there, they live there. They call themselves a pack or something like that and have small cabins they live in” Louis said, this was probably way too much information but now it was out there. No take backs. “In the forest” he didn’t even bother trying not sound crazy.

Officer Murphey and Smith looked at each other with confusion written all over their face, Louis didn’t dare to look at his father and see what kind of facial expression he had going on. Hell, he must’ve sounded like someone who’s outta their mind.

“Wilton is almost nothing but forest though, it’s nearly unpopulated” Smith insisted which made Louis shake his head.

“They hide and they do it well” he assured them. “I can show you where it is, I know where it is”

This was a bad idea, holy hell, this was such a bad idea. But he was already in too deep and if there’s one thing Louis was sure of was that these people deserved to be caught so they couldn’t harm more people, torn down from their little haven and ripped away from their cult so they could see what the real world was like. This had been going on for far too long and Louis was gonna stop them.

Mark chime in after he’d kept quiet for so long. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, you’re finally home and perhaps you should let them do it” his father said.

“They won’t find it then, you need me” the blue eyed lad promised.

He was returning to his capture but not without backup this time.

They all argued back and forth whether this was such a good idea or not but Louis had made his mind up, he was gonna do this and fucking stop this. He knew he could and nothing could stop him at this point. He knew he couldn’t do it alone.

10 minutes of discussing pro and cons of the situation, Murphey and Smith finally called for backup and the team with the K9 dogs. If there was so many people Louis had said there was they were gonna need as many people to help them out with this case.

They all drove to the very edge of the forest where Louis had ran out from less than 24 hours ago, four police cars filled with officers and a van with the dogs and their leaders inside. Louis could already hear their deafening barks and growls as if they were excited to be let out and set their teeth into something. Murphy had asked Louis if he had something with even a bit of some sort of scent from the place and suddenly he was glad he didn’t throw the sweatshirt outta the window, no matter how big of a distraction it was for him to fall asleep last night.

The forest seemed less frightening in the daylight but Louis knew what was hiding behind the mass of trees and what kind of things they could do if you got to close, no one was safe if they stepped a foot in there.

The caretakers of the dogs let them out of the van and at least six came outta there, running around each other a yapping at nothing. One of the caretakers come over towards Louis to take the sweater from him so the dogs could smell it and hunt down the owner of the scent. Not even a second later after the had gotten a whiff of the material, they all started to pull at the leach and wanted to dart into the forest as fast as possible, already picking up where the scent was coming from. There was no turning back now, he was really doing this. It almost felt surreal in some way. Less than a day ago he was still in that village against his will and held captured by these people and now he was trying to take them down.

“Alright! Keep close and down wander off!” one of the other men yelled out to the group of policemen before they all started to walk into the forest, Louis was walking beside his father and Officer Smith. It was still early and they had at least five hours before the sun would go down.

The dogs was barking loudly and sniffing the ground fast, pulling their owners with eagerness. The police force was looking all around with searching eyes as they tried to find something suspicious standing out but Louis knew they weren’t gonna find anything, they knew not to leave any traces behind and that’s exactly why they couldn’t find Louis. They were smart.

Mark’s arm would touch his every second or so as they walked further into the forest like he was afraid Louis would wander of outta his sight and get lost again.

The forest’s tering grew thicker and thicker and started getting more difficult walking on, they were forced to push away wild branches and walk over fallen logs on their way, Louis wasn’t sure how long they’ve been walking or how far.

Suddenly one of the dogs whined loudly like it was in pain before he stopped walking all together, tail between its legs and head bowed down in submission. Not long after all the other dogs followed suit and wouldn’t keep walking, no they did the opposite, they wanted to get back to where they came from and no longer be in the forest, as far away as possible they could. All whining and yapping as they tried to get back. All the officers stared in wonder of what was happening and couldn’t quite believe their eyes. No matter how much the caretakers tried to pull the K9 dogs forward they weren’t budging, something was out there they didn’t wanna meet and Louis knew what it was. Something much bigger and sinister than them, something not even the dogs could stand up against.

“I think we need to take them back” one of the caretakers said in confusion, not quite sure what was going on with the animals. “Continue without, I guess” and that was what they did. As the K9 officers got the dogs back to where they came from all the other officers kept going forward. Louis could hear them all faintly muttering to each other how  _weird that was_  and  _it didn’t make sense, it must have been an off day for the dogs_ but if only they knew what was roaming the forest they would’ve understood the dogs reaction. A chill ran through the omega’s body from what he’d seen, those monsters were out there somewhere.

Shadows of the trees grew longer and longer the further the walked into the forest and their surrounding grew dimer as the sun was going down above them in a rapid speed, they had yet to seen anything and Louis wasn’t sure how long they’d walked for. All concept of time throw out of the window. He’d had made the whole team take twist and turns as they tried to find the well hidden village, the omega tried to remember how many time Harry had turned when they had ran outta there but it was hard to remember and since he’d a cloth tied in front of his eyes so he couldn't see anything nothing seemed familiar around him.

It felt like the people around him was slowly giving up as they walked slower and slower until they finally stopped.

“It’s just a normal forest Louis, there’s nothing but trees and bushes here” Murphey said from the other side of the group but Louis quickly shook his head, he knew what he saw and where he’s been.

“I know it’s here somewhere, I know it!” he promised. Mark put his hand on his shoulder to calm the young omega down but it did nothing to help his distress. They didn’t believe him, of course they didn’t. It sounded crazy even in his own ears so must have thought it was absolutely out of it!

“Louis, we’ve been walking for three hours and seen nothing yet. Are you sure it’s here?” his father said calmly like if he raised his voice in any way it would put Louis off. The police force looked at the exchange between them. “They could’ve told you another location to confuse you so-”

“No!” Louis cut him off, stepping back and almost tripped over a fallen log in the process. “They live here, they have a fucking village here and lives like normal people and I know it, I’ve seen it. I promise, please believe me, I beg you!” he looked around the officers but they all looked at him with pity in their eyes as none of them said anything.

They didn’t believe him. Not even his own father did.

“You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, Louis, we don’t blame you for th-”

“Piss off, I know what I saw! I know they are here” and with that Louis started walking back to where they came from, he could hear his father and the rest of the officers following slowly behind him. He didn’t wanna spend a second longer in that forest than I needed to.

He knew they were out there whether they were gonna believe him or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so my depression came back like a boomerang and beat the ever living shit outta me ;)))
> 
> for the hundred time, im so sorry i take forever to update and i know i say everytime ill be faster but goddammit ive never finished anything in life so im gonna finish this story no matter what!
> 
> so i had to cut this chapter into two when i saw how many words i've written already before i was even done with it. this shitty filler chapter is 11338 words... so ill see ya en three years when im done with the next one ;)))
> 
> i hoped you liked it even tho it was a bit boring and a fucking bitch to get written down. my body is begging me to sleep.
> 
> until next time xx


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